


whitney and the merman

by captainafroelf



Category: Original Work
Genre: Fishing, Mermaids, Multi, Muteness, Romance, Sign Language, Small Towns, as requested, chris hemsworth as a mermaid, it's like stranger things except completely different and about mermaids, straight from my main blog
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-08-28
Packaged: 2019-07-03 15:06:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 28,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15821382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainafroelf/pseuds/captainafroelf
Summary: i wrote a fanfiction on tumblr just for shits and giggles about chris hemsworth being a mermaid, shit popped off, y'all asked for it to be on a platform that wasn't tumblr and i aim to please so here it is! enjoy!





	1. what the water gave me

**Author's Note:**

> this was and is completely unedited so any mistakes are part of the fun

It wasn’t a good day for fishing, or anything for that matter. The storm clouds were dark, almost malevolent, hanging over a pair of siblings like a warning that only one of them seemed to receive. He looked over to his older sister with a raised brow as she continued to fish alongside their father. 

She was braver than him, braver than most people he knew, but this was reckless. Had it not been for their father’s prodding, insisting that she’d done nothing to engage their family since returning from college (far from true), she wouldn’t have felt the need to prove herself on this absolutely short-sighted fishing trip. 

“You catch the best fish when they’re riled up by the storm!” exclaimed their father as the strong winds rocked the water and their boat. “You’ll see!”

“Is that a claim backed by any science?” asked the younger brother, trying not to vomit. Thunder cracked in the sky, hard and loud. “Whitney, that don’t sound good!”

Whitney bit her lip and looked up at the clouds. Lightning surged close by, hitting a tree on the far side of the bay. It wasn’t a good day for fishing at all, but if she had to listen to her father call her “useless” one more time she’d snap in half. 

“It’ll pass!” She shouted back in her brother’s direction, not knowing how true that statement was. “It’s only a thunderstorm!”

“It’s a monster of a storm!”

“You’re a kid, Man-Man, you don’t know anything about storms,” said their father. “My pops took me fishing in a hurricane.”

“I’m very sorry for you, but this isn’t safe.”

The boat rolled over a wave that nearly capsized them. Whitney thought about tethering herself to the boat in case something drastic did happen, but she was afraid of letting the fishing rod go for even a second. 

“Look on the bright side, Mancini, this is gonna be a bitchin’ personal essay.” Whitney looked back at her little brother and smiled. “Still thinking about majoring in marine biology?”

Their father scoffed. “He’s not going to college! He’s staying right here with me, gonna be the fisherman that you never could be.”

Whitney rolled her eyes. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

“Yes, for the first time in years.”

“But I’m here.”

“Yeah, and you ain’t caught shit yet so don’t say nothin’ about it till you do.”

Thunder struck again, shaking the boat and water. The trio struggled to maintain control as the wind picked up. Whitney was starting to agree with her brother, they had to get out of the water. 

“Maybe we could come back tomorrow,” she suggested. “It’s supposed to be sunny then. We’ll be out same time as those biologists from town so Mancini can see them in action.”

“They’ll just slow us down!”

Mancini snapped. “How, dad? How the fuck would they slow us down?”

“You never met no scientists, you don’t know how they are! Before they got here, the fish came in droves. They’re fucking with the ju-ju!”

“They’re scientists! They’re not fucking with anything!”

“You’re too young to understand, Man-Man.”

“Oh my God, dad, I’m 17. Please stop calling me Man-Man before I get married.”

What happened next was too quick for Mancini or their father to catch, but it happened to Whitney in slow agonizing motion. 

First, Whitney snagged something, something big. She gasped, elated. She started reeling in her catch immediately. Whatever she’d caught had some fight, but so did she. She was practically bent over the side of the boat, perched right over the water. Her father had to hold her waist to keep her from toppling in.

He hooted and hollered, but the storm raged on and Mancini wasn’t so sure this would end in their favor. 

“Hold on, baby girl!”

“I caught something!” She squealed. “I cau–”

A flash! Loud and sudden! It crashed into her fishing rod and surged through her arm, her chest, and her torso. She released the rod and her father let go, allowing her to fall forward into the storm-rocked sea. 

As the pain knocked her unconscious, she saw glowing silver eyes surrounded by a pool of blood rush in her direction. 

* * *

Whitney woke up with a gasp, soaking wet and terrified. The storm-clouds had rolled away and been replaced with stars. Wherever she was, it was unfamiliar. A bit of sand and rocks forming a quiet cove, one she’d never been to despite growing up in the bay. 

She looked down. Her clothes were singed and torn from the lightning strike. Her body ached, but that was all. She didn’t see any burns on her dark skin, only scarring. 

Someone saved her life, and they’d worked a miracle. She should have been dead or in a burn ward by now. Whoever her savior was, she couldn’t see them. 

She crawled back and surveyed the area. She could see lights of boats, all out searching for her, but they were distant, they wouldn’t have been able to hear her unless she swam out to them, but maybe whoever saved her could hear. 

“Hello?” she called out. “Fuck…” She slowly stood and went searching for a boat or a cave where someone could have been, but there was nothing but the cove. Being alone was even scarier than dying. 

The water bubbled, startling her. She jumped back, nearly hitting her head on rock behind her. She was surprised when the top of a head appeared from the water and looked up at her with bright blue eyes. 

“Uh…” She cleared her throat. “Did you save me?”

The head nodded. 

“Am I dead?”

The head shook.

“Great… Am I awake and seeing this right now?” The eyes crinkled at the corners, that amused it. “Well, you speak English. You from around here?” 

The head then rose to reveal a nose, a mouth, a neck, and supremely toned shoulders. If Whitney weren’t so sure her savior was lying and she was dead, she’d take note of how attractive they were. 

“You, uh… You dive without a wet-suit?”

The man’s mouth spread into a smile. He dove backwards into the water, flipping a silver tail into the air as he did. Whitney’s eyes grew two times their size.

“O… Okay? Okay. Okay, I’m dead.”

He rose from the water again and shook his head. He swam up to the sand. Once out of the water, she saw his full, shimmering tail. It was beautiful, it reflected the moonlight like a Rainbow Fish book. 

Her handsome savior had a tail. This was new.

“Okay!”

After a while, the tail turned into two legs. He stood himself up. It was a clumsy endeavor, one she could tell he wasn’t used to. Furthermore, he was very tall and extremely naked, but he didn’t seem as uncomfortable with that as he was with walking on two legs. She looked up at the sky before settling on his eyes as he drew closer to her. 

He grabbed her wrist and ran his fingers over the lightning scars, then pointed at the sky and gave her a look.  _What you did earlier was fucking stupid and you’re lucky to be alive_.

She sighed. “I know…”

He pointed to himself and grabbed some of the sand, rubbing it over a burn he must have missed the first time. Keeping his eyes on hers, he watched her wince as it stung, before the stung dulled. Then he pulled her wrist into the water, washing away the sand and healing the burn. 

He raised an eyebrow.  _Understand?_

“I get it.” She looked down at his abdomen, he had a scar of his own, about the same dimensions as her fish hook. She looked down, ashamed. “I did that to you…”

He looked down at the scar and ran his fingers over it. Then, he shrugged. He pointed to similar scars on his shoulders, chest, and arms.  _It happens all the time._

“I’m still sorry.”

Her new friend grinned and pinched her cheek. _It’s cool._

He pointed to the ships in the horizon, then pointed back at himself. Then he made a swimming motion and pointed to the shore. 

“I gotta teach you sign language… Take me back to the bay, please.”

Still very naked, he pulled her into his buff arms and dove with her into the water. At first, she panicked. She wasn’t born with gills so this endeavor felt beyond the scope of possibility. For a split second she feared he was one of those mermaids that drowned sailors and ate them.

Then, he blew into the water, creating a giant bubble that he stuck around her head so that she could breathe. 

So he wasn’t one of those then.

He swam her that long way back to the bay, quick as could be, undetected by the passing boats searching for her. He laid her down on the sand and the bubble around her head popped. 

He couldn’t stay, the sailors would catch him. Before he could retreat into the water, Whitney called out for him. He looked back. 

“What’s your name?” she asked, handing him a twig to write with.

He thought about it for a moment, and she worried that he didn’t know how to write. But then he quickly scribbled something into the sand, throwing the twig out of his hands before speeding back into the water with a final wink back at the woman he saved. 

She stood up and read what he wrote, 

_Name me._


	2. the resurrection

It was a long way back. A sailor who knew Whitney’s father drove her home in the back of his pick-up. He gave her a towel, but she wasn’t shivering because of the cold. 

“We thought you were dead!” said the neighbor. “My God, we all did. We were thinking we’d be fishin’ out a body but then here you come boppin’ along the bay like a zombie.”

In her head she might as well have been a zombie. In the moment it felt a bit more believable than being rescued and healed by a mermaid… merman… merperson. 

Seeing her new friend from the cove changed her perspective on life completely. Now she had to wonder what else was out there. Were there fairies? Vampires? Was Zeus walking around somewhere? 

Did he have a family? Someone had obviously given birth to him, he had a belly button and those were the rules. If he had a family, where was his mother? Did he have a merspouse, perhaps a few merkids? 

And he’d asked her to name him! She found it hard to believe he didn’t already have a name. Had no one ever given him a name? Was she the first person he’d ever met? That could explain the mutism. Or were mermaids born mute? Up to to this point she’d met and seen zero mermaids so how was she meant to know? 

Did he have a habit of picking up sailors and rescuing them? This couldn’t have been the first time, he knew exactly what to do, he knew how to communicate with her even though he seemed to be mute… 

“We’re here, Whitney.”

She blinked back into reality. “Thanks for the ride, Diego.”

“Any time, sweetheart.”

She got out of the truck and walked to her front door, tapping the wind chimes as she always did before knocking on the door. It took a moment, but her father finally answered. 

He stared at her the way he never had before:  _Apologetically._  

“Whit, this was my fault.”

“You don’t cause storms, daddy.”

“Yeah, but I should be keeping you out of them…” His lip trembled. “I was so busy trying to force something. I was selfish, Whitney. I’m sorry.”

She shook her head and embraced her father, giving him a moment to explore this rare show of emotion. She hadn’t seen him this upset in a long time. Any anger she felt was gone. 

“Did you catch anything?” she asked.

“Not a damn thing.”

They laughed. Mancini appeared, hearing his sister’s voice and rushing to see if the news was true and she’d survived the strike somehow. She was there in one piece, with the nose and smile they shared. 

Whitney let go of their father and ran over to her brother, practically lifting him off the ground. “I lived, bitch!”

Mancini held her tighter. “You lived, bitch.” He pulled away/ “How’d you manage that?”

She looked back at their dad, who’d turned his attention to Diego outside. “You won’t believe me.”

“Oh really? You got struck by lightning and lived. I’ll believe any fucking thing you say.”

* * *

“I don’t believe you.”

“I told you that you wouldn’t believe me!”

Mancini rolled his eyes. “If you don’t wanna tell me what really happened, that’s fine, but don’t go around telling people Aquaman saved you, okay? We have a reputation for being smart and not crazy.”

Whitney had explained it all. She described being struck, falling into the water, meeting the merman, his tale, and his returning her to the bay. She described it in exact detail showing her brother exactly how she and the merman spoke to each other and pointing out the approximate location of his cove on a map. Mancini called bullshit. 

“I wouldn’t lie to you about a man with a fish tail!”

“Maybe being struck by lightning affected you cognitively…” he suggested. He leaned in as if sharing a delicate secret with her. “There are people who have bad falls and come out speaking with new accents. Maybe this is just that. We did just watch The Shape of Water together.”

“Mancini!”

“You think a handsome white fish man scooped you up into his private cove, healed you, and dropped you off on the shore?”

“And he asked me to name him, implying he wants to see me again.’

“Oh great, you have a merboyfriend.”

“You are a scientific kid, expand your beliefs!”

“I’m a scientific kid so this is against my beliefs. All mermaid sightings and bigfoot hunters and loch ness monster enthusiasts are pseudoscience.”

“I thought so too but then… He pinched my cheek.”

Mancini feigned surprise. “He _what_?” She sucked her teeth. Mancini pulled out his phone and pretended to dial 9-1-1. “Hello, police? Mermando pinched my sister’s cheek. I think you’re gonna need a net… No, no, operator, it’s not for him, it’s for her.”

“Man-Man!”

“Stop calling me that.”

“I will, when you believe me!”

“Mermaids aren’t real, Whit!”

Whitney needed proof. She needed proof and she needed to think fast. “I caught him! I caught him on my line before the lightning struck. Did daddy keep the hook?”

“Dad keeps every hook, it’s sick. You know that.”

Whitney got up and went out into the room where their father kept the fishing gear. Her destroyed rod and hook were still there, it was a miracle. She picked up the hook. There was something red and sticky on it that had to be human blood, along with a tiny bit of flesh that must have ripped when he’d pulled it out. 

“Sorry again, buddy…” she whispered, before running back to her room with the hook. 

She put it in Mancini’s face and he gagged. “C’mon, Whit!”

“That’s his blood! That’s his…  _skin_? I think?”

“You caught a swimmer, congratulations.”

Whitney groaned. “You’re killing me, you’re being a bad brother.”

“Oh?”

“I’m your older sister, Man-Man. I wouldn’t lie to you about anything. Have I ever lied to you?”

“You told me Aunt Maureen died when she went to jail for tax evasion. You  _also_  told me that dyeing my hair blue would get a guy to like me, it didn’t, I went to prom alone–”

“Mancini! I lied to protect you.”

“I went to prom  _alone_ , Whitney.”

“You like douchey guys!” Mancini gasped. “It’s true! I was saving you from heart break. I’m not saving you from anything by telling you mermaids are real, Man-Man! Believe me!”

Mancini crossed his arms. “I wanna see the merman.”

“Of course you do.”

“He wants you to name him, that means he trusts you, it’s like… stray cats. I wanna see him. I’ll push you off another boat if I have to.”

“Would you really?”

Mancini quickly shook his head. “I love you.”

“Aww!” 

She pinched his cheek and he shook his head. “Don’t start doing that just because your merboy did it to you. I’ll snap.”


	3. hot merman

Whitney and Mancini were back on the water a few days later in a rowboat. They’d brought their fishing rods along as an alibi, but Whitney wasn’t concerned with fishing. She kept her eyes out for the cove.

Mancini started to realize his sister was serious when she made a bead and shell necklace for her new fish friend. At that point, his skepticism started to morph into genuine concern for her mental health. 

“It’s a beautiful day out,” he said. “Good for the skin… Good for the head…”

“Do you think he’ll come out if I try to find him? What if he’s shy?”

Mancini let out a long sigh. “Was his tail scaly or smooth?”

“Scaly… Beautiful…” She grinned at him. “I know you still don’t believe me and it’s gonna make it so much more fun when I can rub it in your face.”

“Alright, Whit…” He spotted a cove in the distance and pointed over to it. “That your boy’s place?”

She perked up. “Yeah, that’s it!”

“Alright, so what’s the plan? Are we rowing over or–” Whitney stood up and slid her shorts down. Then she pulled off her shirt. When she was standing in nothing but a bikini, he reached out and grabbed her ankle. “ _No._ ”

She rolled her eyes. “Do you trust me?”

“I did before this moment.”

“Have a little faith! Row up when I give you the signal.”

“Which is?”

“I’ll just wave my hands, Mancini. Chill out.”

Before he could protest further, Whitney dove into the water. She swam towards the cove, heart beating from her chest. She didn’t look back, just forward. 

She made it to the cove and climbed over the rock, scraping the palm of her hand on the way. After swinging her legs over, she sat for a moment and looked at the wound. It was deeper than it initially felt.

“You’re gonna kill yourself one of these days…” she whispered to herself. “Jesus…”

She looked out and the memories of the first night came flooding back to her. All the shock, fear, and adrenaline was there. It was different this time only because she knew what to expect. 

She waited for a few minutes. Mancini watched from a distance with his arms crossed. He had a feeling nothing would happen, and nothing had happened thus-far, so it was partially vindicating but not without a bit of sadness for his sister. She shouldn’t have been out fishing that fateful day. She had nothing to prove to anyone. If her father didn’t insist on treating her like she was the reason their mom left, they wouldn’t have been out there. 

The rocks of the cove were low enough for Whitney to dip her feet into the water. Blood began to trickle from her palm and into the blue. She swung her legs and took in the scenery. It was so beautiful, so quiet, like it’s own world. No wonder he stuck to this place, she would if she had the choice. 

She looked back at Mancini and stuck out her tongue. While her head was turned, a hand shot out from the water and grabbed her wrist. She gasped and looked down to see him, the merman, smiling up at her. 

“It’s you!” He looked at her bleeding hand and ran his fingers over the gash. She hissed. “It’s fine…”

He raised his eyebrows.  _Really?_ She repeated herself and he shook his head. Next thing she knew, she was being pulled into the water. Her friend dragged her to the sand, doing the same thing he’d done when he rescued her the first time. He grabbed a handful and rubbed it on her wound, then washed the sand off in the water, cleaning it and healing it fast. 

“Thank you so much.”

He held a finger up and dove back down. She waited patiently, wondering what the plan was, then he bobbed back up to her with a handful of seaweed. He gingerly wrapped it around her hand, then kissed it. 

“Thanks again, wow… How does that work?” He thought for a moment, then he joined her on the sand, tracing a moon. “Moon powers?” He nodded. “Cool.” 

He pointed to her cornrowed hair with a smile and pointed to his heart. _I like your hair_. Then he pointed to her necklace. _I like that, too._

Whitney unfastened the necklace. “It’s for you! I made it for you.” His eyes lit up. “I wanted to thank you for saving me.”

He waved the thought away and took the necklace. The gesture seemed to warm him beyond words, not that he had any to begin with. He traced his fingers over the shells and beads, happily flapped his tail, and smiled at her.

Yup, they were definitely friends now. 

He put the necklace on and wiggled his eyebrows. She giggled. “You’re handsome.” He flipped his hair. “Don’t get cocky. Can I stay for a moment?”

Excited, he nodded. He pulled himself out of the water, and his tail turned to legs once more. She averted her eyes to avoid looking directly at his extreme state of nudity, although she caught a quick glimpse of his ass.  _Not bad._  

There was a stone at the back of the cove, the merman rolled it away, revealing a few things he’d picked up from human over the years. One of them was a scrunchy that he used to put his golden hair into a bun, another was a familiar looking cell phone. 

“My phone!” Whitney exclaimed. “Where’d you find it?” He pointed to the water. She walked over and picked it up. Miraculously, it was working, though she imagined the speakers were gone. 

She looked up at him, then realized that she was looking _up_  at him. The man, on two feet, was tall as hell. He was tall, broad, and sun-kissed. He looked like a supermodel, and now she had time to fully appreciate it. 

“You’re like an angel…” 

That tickled him. He booped her nose.  _You, too_.

“My… My brother didn’t believe me when I told him about you… He’s out in a rowboat thinking I’m crazy.”

He nodded. _You are_. He took her hand and tapped his chest with it.  _But I’m real!_

“Can you… Would you show him that I’m not crazy?” She pointed in the direction of the boat. “He’s over there.” The merman smirked and ran back into the water, disappearing under the surface. “I was gonna say ‘I’ll bring him over to say hi’…”

Mancini watched a few fishermen work by the bay and thought about how fun it would be to be home playing The Sims at that moment, when he felt the rowboat start to tip. \He whipped his head around and saw a blond, blue eyed man resting on the side of the boat, wearing his sister’s homemade necklace with a smile on his face. He thought he’d lost it. 

“Hello there.” The man waved. “Are you… Ariel?” He seemed confused by that. “The fish man?”

The man disappeared back under the water, and Mancini leaned over to look for him but had no such luck. A moment later, he shot up from the water, his beautiful tail caught the sunlight and nearly blinded Mancini who stared in gape-mouthed awe.

“OH MY GOD!” He shook as the merman swam back towards the cove, where Whitney was watching and laughing. “WHAT THE FUCK?”

* * *

The next hour was spent with Mancini asking a thousand questions while the merman made a net. Whitney was busy collecting shells. Even the shells were unlike anything she’d seen on the bay. The merman seemed to think she should have collected all the peach colored ones, holding them up to her face as if to say,  _These look good on you_.

“So are you mute or do you choose not to talk?” 

The merman sighed and, in a raspy underused voice, replied, “Not… Good…”

“Oh, you choose not to talk?”  He nodded. He pointed to himself and then made a motion as if he were rocking a baby, then dragged his finger along his throat. “When you were a baby, you had your throat cut?”

The merman’s eyes widened and he shook his head. He groaned softly and motioned around his stomach, then dragged his finger along his throat. 

“I don’t get it…” Mancini said.

The merman looked at Whitney for understanding. It took her a second but she got it. “His mother died when he was a baby. He’s been alone his whole life, he never learned to speak.” He smiled and tapped Whitney’s forehead. “He says I’m smart.”

“Alright. Why’d you save my sister?”

He cocked his head to the side and finished his net. “Anyone,” he replied.

“Anyone?”

Whitney smiled. “He’d save anyone.”

The merman took his net and went back into the water. Mancini turned to his sister and whistled. “I believe you.”

“Good!” 

“Hot merman fished you out and healed you, this is real.”

Whitney looked out into the water. “Don’t call him ‘hot merman’.”

“Sorry, I wasn’t given the responsibility of naming him.” He raised an eyebrow. “You’re not gonna try to fuck him, are you?”

She scoffed. “No!”

“I know pickings are slim in the bay but–”

“Mancini!”

The merman returned with a net full of fish for his friends. He tossed it to Mancini who was less than enthusiastic about catching it. Whitney took it from her brother’s hands and looked at the merman. 

“Thank you.” He pulled the necklace to his lips and kissed it. “You’re welcome.” Whitney checked the time. “We should go.”

The merman’s smile fell. _Do you have to?_

“Our dad’s gonna panic if we don’t head home, he’s a little jittery. Separation anxiety, I think.” She bit her lip. “What do you think of the name ‘Finn’?” He put his finger on his nose. “Yeah, I know, but I’m not creative.”

He thought about it a bit more, then wrote the name in the sand with his finger. It grew on him quickly. He kissed the back of Whitney’s hand, then swam back into the water. 

The siblings stood and started making their way back to their boat. Mancini sighed. “I changed my mind. If you don’t fuck him, I might have to.”


	4. beauty

Finn’s gift of fish rewarded the family in more ways than one. The fish he caught made a great dinner, but they also sold well at the market that week. Whitney’s father was more than impressed and he maintained a good mood for days. 

Whitney was also in a good mood. She came home from the library with a backpack full of books on mermaids and the history of the bay. She was singing around the house the way she used to when she was little. 

Mancini leaned on the doorway of her room. “You’re very flamboyant today.”

“I found something interesting…” she sang.

“A second mermaid?”

“Better!”

Mancini smiled. “Finn has a teenage brother?”

“No.”

“Fuck it then.”

“Listen! Come here!” 

Mancini sat beside her on her bed and sniffed her. “You smell like fish.”

“I was by the shore reading.” 

She slid a book marked 1981 in his direction and opened to a page she’d marked with a Post-It note. It was about the bay’s folklore, including a number of mermaid sightings. 

“Up until the eighties, mermaid sightings were a regular thing. The people who saw them were usually dismissed as being hysterical, but they sold mermaid key-chains at the gift shop, too. That just stops in ‘82 for some reason. All mentions of mermaids just…  _Cease_. Like someone erased them.”

“Well, obviously not erased if it’s in a history book.”

“This is a book from ‘81! The one from ‘82 has no mention of anything in this section.”

“Hm. Weird.” He closed the book and put his hand on her shoulder. “You’re my date to the movies tonight.” 

Whitney laid back and looked up at the ceiling. She’d just spent three hours of her morning reading historical archives and expected a bit more enthusiasm from her little brother. “Mancini.”

“Don’t argue with me.” She groaned. “I know you wanna find out everything about Finn, but it’s Old Movie Fridays, sis! You love Old Movie Fridays. We can talk about Finn tomorrow, I promise.” 

“Is Zay still working the box office?”

“Still working the box office. Still in love with you. Still thinks a t-shirt collection constitutes a personality… But he gets us popcorn discounts so wear your hair up, he loves that.” Whitney grabbed her pillow and beamed it at her brother’s head. “IT’S THE TRUTH!”

* * *

Whitney managed to push Finn to the back of her mind temporarily while she stood outside of the theater with Mancini, checking her lip gloss in the mirror of someone’s car. One of Mancini’s friends from school spotted him in the line and they caught up.

Mancini’s friend’s father was someone Whitney vaguely recognized from his guest lectures at the high school about work they were doing in the scientific research facility just outside of town. Although she only vaguely recognized him, he immediately recognized her.

“You were the charming young lady who asked if I knew anything about UFOs.”

Her eyes widened. “You remembered that?”

He chuckled. “That sort of thing is hard to forget.” He reached out his hand. “Your name is Whitney, right?”

“Yeah! And you’re Dr… Wells?”

“That’s right!”

“Oh cool.”

“My wife bought a fish from your father and brother earlier this week, it’s been a good season, huh? Have you seen more fish than usual?”

She shook her head. “We’re just lucky, I guess. We had a pretty good fishing trip after the storm.”

Dr. Wells smiled. “Good. That means the population’s still healthy.”

“I guess,” She pushed a stray curl behind her ear. “I wouldn’t know much about that.”

“You don’t have to, it’s my job, not yours.”

Mrs. Wells turned to Whitney and gasped at the sight of her earrings. “Good Lord…” She leaned in to get a better look. “Those are  _gorgeous_! Where the hell did you get ‘em?”

“I made them,” Whitney replied. “I have a few shells like this, I could make you a pair.”

“I’m no expert, but that’s a peculiar shell, where’d you find it?” asked Dr. Wells. “Did you buy them from someone?” 

Whitney laughed nervously. She was a historically bad liar, but she’d try anyway. “Oh, no, I found them on the beach, I was waiting for my dad to load things onto our boat so I just collected a few shells.”

Mrs. Wells pulled out her phone. “Can I get your number? I will pay good money for a pair of beauties like that.”

“Of course!” 

She gave Mrs. Wells her number and Mancini returned to his place in the line beside her. She put her arm around his shoulder and the line kept moving. 

“You should get a summer job with Dr. Wells at the facility. They’re studying the local fish up there.”

Mancini shrugged. “I don’t know. It doesn’t seem fair if I’m friends with his kid.”

“But you want the job, don’t you?” He nodded. “Then it shouldn’t matter! You need to get out there. I think you’d be a great scientist.”

Mancini rolled his eyes. “I mean you’re not  _wrong_ …”

They made it to the box office and Zay gasped when Whitney stepped forward. She kept her eyes averted, but that never kept him away. 

“Hello beautiful.”

“Two tickets for Psycho,” Whitney said. “How are you, Zay? I haven’t seen you since last month…  _At the last Old Movie Fridays_.”

“I’m better now that you’re here. Since you look so cute, you only have to pay the price of one ticket.” He winked. “You can pay the rest later, maybe over coffee.”

She quickly slid the money in the window and he handed her the tickets. “See you later, Zay!” 

She grabbed Mancini and they quickly walked into the theater. Mancini couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s been five years, you’d think he’d give up.”

“I kissed him once. Just once. It was mistletoe, those are the rules.” 

She walked up to concessions and ordered a large popcorn for the two of them to share. Of course the employees knew to give a discount to Zay’s favorite girl. She waited for them to scoop up the popcorn and she eyed the bag of M&Ms behind the window. It gave her an idea. 

Mancini paid for the popcorn and started carrying it into the theater when he noticed his sister hanging back. “What’s up?”

“Nothing! Go in.”

“Alright…” 

Mancini walked into the theater and Whitney turned back to the bag of M&Ms. “Can I get two of those?”

* * *

It was a bit past midnight, Whitney rowed out to the cove with a ziploc bag full of M&Ms in her purse. She wasn’t sure how to get Finn’s attention when she wasn’t hurt so she just sat by the rocks and waited, singing a little song as she did. 

Eventually, he showed up, happy as he was the last two times he’d seen her. He scanned her and seemed confused when he didn’t find any injuries. 

“I didn’t come here to get healed, Finn.” That only made him more confused. The only reason any human had ever been in his cove was to be healed as far as he knew. She shook the bag. “I brought candy.”

He got a little closer. She took an M&M out of her bag and dropped it in his hand, then ate one herself. He ate it and there was hesitation at first, but then  he closed his eyes and hummed blissfully. 

She laughed. “See? Not bad!” He pointed to the bag and then to his mouth. “Think you can catch it?” He nodded. She tossed an M&M at his mouth and he caught it easily. “Alright, Mr. Perfect, we get it. You’re perfect.”

Finn noticed her earrings and tugged his ear. He thought but couldn’t quite think of how to communicate the word ‘Beautiful’, so he tried his best to say it, only it came out as “Beauty”. 

Whitney became bashful and choked on an M&M. “I’m… Me?” He nodded. “Thank you, Finn. You too.”

He swam closer to her until he was looking up at her from between her knees. He used the rock on either side of her to lift himself up until they were eye to eye and nearly chest to chest. Whitney froze. She looked at his lips and drew her own bottom lip between her teeth. 

Finn didn’t kiss her. Instead, he grabbed a handful of M&Ms and splashed back down into the water. Whitney could pinpoint the moment breath returned to her lungs. She couldn’t believe she’d held it that long. 

“Very cute,” she told him before tossing an M&M into the air and catching it in her own mouth. His cheeks turned pink under the stars. 


	5. goodnight sunshine

Every other night for almost two months, Whitney snuck out after her father was asleep to visit Finn. She always brought a new treat for him, and he was extremely supportive of her new jewelry-making side hustle so he always gave her the prettiest shells he could find. Sometimes she brought Mancini along so that he could ask any scientific questions he wanted, which Finn was (mostly) happy to answer.

They also spoke a lot, naturally. She was the first human he’d ever spent that much time with, and what a human she was. She brought him a few sign language books and practiced with him as she’d learned ASL while in college. He was a quick and attentive learner. They spoke about anything they could. Finn loved listening to Whitney’s stories and she loved his jokes.  

“They’re called Swedish Fish because they’re Swedish and they’re shaped like fish, not because they taste like fish.”

_What do they taste like?_  he signed. Whitney wanted him to try for himself but she couldn’t hide the disgusted expression on her face. Finn pouted.  _Not good?_

“You try them first, I want your opinion.” Now skeptical, Finn took a bite, then shook his head. “Alright, so now we know.”

_What do we know?_

“That Swedish Fish are universally garbage.”

Finn furrowed his brows.  _Hey! My father was a Swedish fish!_

Whitney laughed and he laughed, too. “That was the corniest thing you’ve said to me. Lucky for the both of us, I brought better candy.” She handed him a bag of Skittles and he immediately tore into it. “Speaking of your father… You never talk about your parents.”

He paused and put the bag of candy to the side.  _I don’t remember._

“Were you that young when they went away?” she asked. “What happened?”

_I was a baby,_  he signed. He thought hard for a moment, trying to think of more than just the right signs to use.  _My father was already gone. Someone took my mother._

“Took her?”

_In a boat._

She looked back at the bay. “Did they take her to the shore? Where I live?” 

_I don’t remember._

She didn’t press him much further. She pulled her knees up to her chest. “Our mom left, too. Right after Mancini was born.” Finn reached over and put his hand on her’s. “It’s not a big deal, I don’t think she liked taking care of one kid, having two just… pushed her away.”

He shook his head.  _It’s not your fault._  

She shrugged and turned from him. “And then I left my family for five years to go to school. I didn’t want to come back but I couldn’t just leave Mancini behind.”

_You are a good sister._

“Yeah, most of the time.” She giggled. “He really likes you. I told him you can sometimes walk on two feet and now he wants you to come visit us on the shore.”

Whitney fully expected Finn to laugh with her, thinking the idea as ridiculous as she thought it was. When he didn’t laugh, she got nervous. 

“Finn, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

_Why not?_

“Well, you’d stand out like a sore thumb.” He gasped. “Don’t get offended, it’s the truth. You’re beautiful, you’re tall, you’re a stranger, you smell like the sea constantly.”

_Say I’m your cousin!_

“You don’t look like you could be my cousin,  _at all_.”

He crossed his arms, then got an idea.  _I’m your boyfriend!_ Whitney blinked.  _What?_

“No one would believe that you’re my boyfriend.”

_Why? Am I bad?_ She shook her head.  _I’m confused._

“It’s complicated.”

Finn looked over her face. He reached up and turned her face towards him.  _You’re sad._

“You’d really want to pretend to be my boyfriend?”

_Is that wrong?_

“No, it’s just…” She looked into his eyes and admired the way Finn was incapable of insincerity. “It’s not wrong.”

Finn smiled. He looked beyond her for a moment, then smiled and waved at whoever was there. Whitney turned and saw her brother rowing out on a banana colored rental boat as if their father didn’t have a second boat. 

Mancini tied the boat with hers and climbed into the cove. He noticed how close Whitney and Finn were, then saw the hand on her face, and he raised an eyebrow. “Hi Finn, how are you?”

I’m good, Mancini, how are you?

“Good, good… Am I interrupting something?”

Whitney shook her head. “We were talking about your idea. Remember? For Finn to come ashore and have dinner.”

“I was thinking about that earlier, too. Just have him pretend to be your boyfriend.” 

Finn chuckled. _I said that_.

“Hmm, did you?” Mancini’s shit-eating grin was the worst. “Interesting.”

“Why are you here, Mancini?”

“Hey, Finn, can I speak to my big sis alone for a sec?” Finn nodded and retreated into the water. “I couldn’t sleep so I broke into your room and stole that history book which I then sealed in a waterproof bag just to carry over here. You’re welcome.”

“Why though?”

“So, I was in the waiting area for my interview with the research facility…”

“How’d that go?”

“Not to brag but I’m smart as hell and I have a firm handshake so I’m definitely getting that summer gig.” He smiled. “Anyway, in the waiting area, they have a bunch of pictures of the head scientists hung up. Dr. Wells was there, but there was also a dude whose last name was Browning. Now, I let that go, because I didn’t really care. The job requires I only work and study under Dr. Wells, and he told me I wouldn’t really be involved with the other head scientists unless they hired me for a full-time position, but for that I’d need at least a bachelor’s degree–”

“Mancini…”

“Dr. Browning is mentioned in this book as one of the people who spotted mermaids pre-1982. He wasn’t one-hundred percent sure that’s what he saw. But he definitely described something being the ‘size of a human with the tail of a fish’. Maybe he’d know why there’s no mention of them after ‘81. Alright, that’s it, go back to your date.”

“It’s not a date.”

“That merman wants to be part of your world.”

“Please go home.”

“You should come home with me, it’s 3 AM.”

“Shit..” She stood up. “Finn!” Finn swam back up to her. “I have to go home.”

He frowned. _Goodnight, sunshine_ , he signed. 

_Goodnight, moonlight,_ she signed back. 

“Wait, what did y’all just say?”

“Don’t worry about it, let’s go.”

Mancini almost screamed. “Do y’all have pet names now?!”

“Let’s go!”


	6. suspicion

Mancini began his first day at the research facility with an empty, growling stomach and shaking hands. He looked out of the window at the facility then looked back at Whitney, who’d driven him up there. 

“I can’t do it.”

“You were so confident this morning when you came out of your room in your lab coat.”

“That was then, this is now.”

“That was half an hour ago,” she sighed. “Baby brother. Mancini. Man-Man. You are exactly where you’re supposed to be. It’s all gonna work out, you’re twenty minutes early.”

Mancini took a deep breath. “What if that’s too early? What if they think I’m sucking up? They’ll talk about me, Whitney! I’ll be made into an inside joke! ‘Oh, you remember that Black kid we hired who showed up way too early and vomited on his own shoes the first day? Glad we got rid of him!’.”

Whitney laughed and grabbed his face. “You’re not vomiting on your shoes, you’ll be fine. You look great. Put on some chapstick.”

“I don’t have chapstick.”

“I know.” She grabbed some chapstick from her bag. “It’s mint.”

He took it and read the label. “It says it’s for plumping.”

“Do you want dry lips?”

Begrudgingly, Mancini applied chapstick and hopped out of the car. As he stepped out, he was greeted by a familiar but not so friendly face locking his bike to a rack. Tall, handsome genius: Antonio. 

Antonio grinned in Mancini’s direction. “Mancini, is this your first day, too?”

“The program starts today, of course it’s my first day.”

“Great, I hope we get to be partners at some point. You always did have a thing for fish.” He leaned down to wave at Whitney and she waved back. “See you inside.”

“Yes, you will.” Antonio walked into the facility and Mancini leaned into the window of the car. “You have to take me home.”

“Why? Scared the romantic tension between you and Tony will become too much to bare?”

“Ugh! For the last time, Antonio doesn’t have a crush on me. I know when guys have a crush on me. He doesn’t. All he ever does is say condescending shit about me and my work, and now I’ll have to deal with that here? It’s a sign, Whit. I should go home. ‘You always did have a thing for fish’, who says that?”

“Mancini, you always have had a thing for fish, you used to cry when we ate fish for dinner. You’re going to school for marine biology. You’re working in a lab studying fish.”

“He’s gonna trash talk me to everyone else…”

“He likes you. I’m driving away now.” 

“Wait! Are you gonna see Finn tonight?”

“Daddy wants me to sell my jewelry while he sells fish so it depends on how tired I am after inhaling fish for hours.” She raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“I was going to say, after you pick me up, we should go get clothes his size for him to wear when he inevitably comes ashore to eat dinner with us and make sweet and salty fishy merlove to you.”

“Mancini, the two of you have lost your minds if you think this will end well! And stop talking about Finn and I-That’s- No, that’s  _wrong_ …”

Mancini rolled his eyes. “Whatever helps you repress the literal wet dreams, sis.”

Whitney drove back home where her father was waiting on the porch with the fish ready to sell. She hopped out of the car and immediately helped him load it in. There was something in her father’s expression that made her think this day would be so much longer than she’d originally thought.

“After this, I’ll grab my jewelry and we can head out.”

“Alright Whit.” His voice was curt, she tried to smile that away, which never worked before and didn’t work now. “How much jewelry is it?”

“Quite a bit.”

“Surprised you have time to work on jewelry when you sneakin’ out every night.”

Whitney stopped in her tracks and turned to him. “We can talk about that in the car.” 

“Why can’t we talk about it out here?”

“Because I don’t want to.”

Whitney went inside and grabbed her box of jewelry and her displays. When she got back outside, her dad was waiting in the car for her, staring forward with a frown. 

She climbed into the driver’s seat and her father kept his eyes forward until the door was closed, then he turned to her. “So, who’s your boyfriend?”

“Daddy…”

“You go out late at night, come back with fish? You have a boyfriend. Does Man-Man know who he is?”

“I don’t have a boyfriend, I’ve just been fishing.”

“On your own?”

“Yeah!”

“You lyin’ like a rug.”

“Daddy, I wouldn’t lie to you. Can we please just keep it moving?”

“You can drive and talk.”

Whitney started driving. “I don’t have a boyfriend. Mancini can vouch for me. I wouldn’t lie to you and neither would he.”

Her father sighed. “I know you grown, girl. But if you get pregnant…”

“For the love of God, stop! You’re always like this. I’m not leaving you and Mancini for some guy. I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“Would you tell me if you did?”

“Based on this conversation, hard to say.”

The rest of the ride was in silence. Most of the day in the market was spent in silence. When she went to pick her brother up from work she told her father she was leaving, and by that point they hadn’t spoken for an hour. 

She, of course, told Mancini the whole story. He laughed, which she didn’t appreciate. 

“Typical dad,” he said. “So are we bringing Finn onshore or–”

“No! Daddy will kill him and me and then you.”

“What makes you think that?” Whitney glared at him. “What?”

“You know how that man is. He wants us to spread our wings, sure. But I think he’d prefer that we stayed home and fished with him for the rest of our lives.”

“C’mon. It’s dad, not some axe murderer.”

“I love him but he’s just… thick-skulled and short-sighted and short-tempered.” She sighed. They stopped at a red light and she leaned her forehead on the wheel. “We were doing so well. I should’ve known sneaking out would fuck it up.”

“You’re not gonna stop seeing Finn, are you?” Mancini asked. “You’ve been so much happier since you got a merman.”

Whitney grinned. “He cheers me up… but daddy’s just gonna get worse.”

“I will keep him off your back. We can try it tonight. I’ll stay up late and distract him if he tries following you.”

“You’d do that for me?”

“Yeah, on one condition.”

“Jesus fucking…”

“You have to agree to try and help me get Finn onto the bay. We don’t have to have him meet dad, we can go to a restaurant and the movies.”

“That’s really your condition?”

“Yeah, of course.”

She rolled her eyes. “Fine.” Mancini clapped. “Stop that. How was work?”

Mancini groaned. “Antonio told Dr. Wells I knew a lot about the habits of local crabs. He’s up to something.”

“Wow, he aggressively wants to make out with you, man.”

“How could you say that?!”


	7. sandcastles

A bit past midnight, Whitney sent a text to Mancini that said: “It’s time”. Their father was in the living room, pretending to watch tv. Mancini slipped down and grabbed a soda from the fridge before sitting right next to him.

“Wassup?”

His father glared. “Why you up so late?”

“Can’t sleep. Whit told me about your conversation earlier,” he said. “Kids. You do your best with them and they just disrespect you.” 

Their father let out a long sigh. “Does she have a boyfriend, Mancini?”

“No, she’s way too high strung for that.” Whitney snuck out of her bedroom in socks, being careful not to alert her father’s ears. “I think she’s just fishing and getting shells. She likes the quiet and the alone time since there’s usually no one out this late.”

“Then why sneak out?” 

Mancini shrugged. “Maybe… She thinks you’ll join her.”

“Is that so bad?”

“Well, you two don’t exactly get along, dad.” Mancini’s phone vibrated with a message from Whitney that let him know she was about to open the door. “I mean… It’s not hard to see why, you’re pretty harsh on her.” 

“Harsh? She’s my daughter.” 

“Yeah, BUT you could do without calling her ‘lazy’ and ‘useless’. She works really hard! She got her degree!”

“She got her degree and we got her debt, and she doesn’t even have a fuckin’ job!”

Mancini was absolutely baffled. “She was offered one out of town but you convinced her that it would be better to stay here ‘for now’.”

“She’s better here. People outside the bay don’t get us, Man-Man. Whit’s smart but this family’s all she knows. Other people might take advantage of that.”

Mancini sipped his soda. “Not _all_  she knows…”

* * *

Whitney got to the cove and splashed into the water. She didn’t even have to call Finn’s name before he swam up to the surface and wrapped his arms around her waist. 

“Hi Finn!” She hugged him back. “I’ve had the worst two days.” He frowned. “Yeah, I’d rather not talk about it.”

_We don’t have to_ , he signed. _If it helps- I got shot again today._

“You what?” Whitney looked down and saw what had to have been an arrow sticking out from Finn’s side. “Jesus, Finn, it’s still there.”

_I broke most of it off- It doesn’t hurt as bad as it looks._

“Does it hurt though?” She smacked herself in the forehead. “Of course it hurts. Can I try to pull it out? It’s not near anything major.”

Finn grimaced.  _That’s gross_.

“Finn,  _you have an arrow sticking out of you_.” 

She grabbed his wrist and led him to the sand, laying him down on his back. She wasn’t medically trained but growing up in a fishing town taught her much about first aid. 

The arrow wasn’t big, nor was it deep, and the fisherman who shot it was probably aiming for Finn’s tail but had terrible aim, lucky for Finn. He’d already managed to pull most of it out but the arrow-head was stuck, meaning…

“This is gonna hurt like a bitch, so be prepared for that, okay? Breathe through it and- and look at me. Try not to think about how much it hurts.”

Finn chuckled. _Stop talking- I trust you won’t let me die._

“You trust me?” He nodded. Whitney tried not to smile because she was about to pull an arrow from his body, but Finn was smiling up at her so she couldn’t help herself. “Don’t speak too soon…”

She wanted to close her eyes but she couldn’t as she carefully pulled out the arrowhead, gagging a bit as it left his body and a bit of blood trickled out onto the clean sand. Finn breathed through it and kept his stare fixed on her. It was always fixed on her. He’d seen so many people over the years but none as beautiful, none as warm. 

She tossed the arrow aside. Finn did what he always did to heal himself, grabbing a handful of sand and putting it on the wound. He thanked her for her help. Whitney was struck by how casual he was about the whole thing.

“Your body is covered in scars and you still help people. You still save them.” Finn nodded and jumped into the water. Whitney watched him wash the sand off revealing a freshly healed new scar. “It’s like you’ve found your true purpose in life.”

_Haven’t you?_ Whitney shook her head and got back into the water with him.  _Why not?_

“I can’t leave the bay…” she said. “Five years of college and I’m right back in high school having my dad interrogate me about a boyfriend I don’t have all because he can’t let go of anything. He still wears these shoes that he’s had since the nineties. They have holes in the heels, but they’re shoes that mom bought him. I think sometimes maybe I’m supposed to help him out of that, but why is that my job? I’m his kid, not his therapist.”

Finn touched the necklace she’d made with his shells.  _You’re talented!_

“Thank you, but I can’t sell jewelry forever. Not here at least.”

_Do you like it?_

“I love it, I used to make jewelry all the time when I was in school. I did tell you I have a degree in history, right? Not exactly paying bills.”

_You should sell jewelry if you love it- Don’t be so sad! You won’t be stuck forever._

Whitney laughed. “You’re the sweetest man in the bay, you know that? Good Lord it’s like someone dreamed you up.” Finn appreciatively touched her face, then blushed and turned away. “I’ve always wanted to ask you this, why did you let me name you?”

Bashful now, Finn seemed slightly embarrassed by his answer before he even gave it.  _I thought you were pretty- It was an excuse to see you again._

“Mancini said that was the reason and I told him he was crazy.”

_He is- You both are! - But he was also right._ Finn smiled.  _No one’s ever come back before._

Whitney gave him a quick peck on the cheek, and his face grew even pinker. “Sounds like they missed out.”

Finn put his hand over his heart. If he weren’t so terrified of scaring her off, he would’ve kissed her then and there.  _Thank you._

“Speaking of Mancini, he’s still committed to you getting dinner with us and I promised I’d run the plan by you, do you wanna hear it?” Finn nodded. “Oh, I was afraid you’d say yes…”

* * *

She got home an hour later and snuck into Mancini’s room. He quickly woke up and threatened her with the tennis racket by his bed. She held her hands up in surrender. 

“Is  _that_ why you have that?!”

“I was gonna learn tennis!”

“When, Mancini? When? When were you gonna learn tennis?!”

He set the racket down. “Why are you in here?” Whitney closed the door and sat at the foot of Mancini’s bed. “You smell like blood.”

“I pulled an arrow out of Finn.”

“Oh? That’s sexy.”

“You have issues, but that’s not what I came in here to talk about. Finn and I talked about the plan.”

Mancini’s eyes lit up. “And?’

She smiled. “We have a date.”


	8. princess whitney

Mancini loved the lab. He loved looking at all of the specimens and studying. he loved hearing the anecdotes of the working scientists and having the opportunity to ask questions of them directly outside of their annual school visits. 

When he was at the research facility he followed Dr. Wells like a shadow. He wrote down practically everything he said, except when he was told to stop writing things down, or when Antonio appeared.

Antonio tapped him on the shoulder. When Mancini didn’t respond immediately, he nudged him with his elbow.

“Something you need?” Mancini asked. 

“Dr. Wells likes you, man.” Antonio said. Mancini rolled his eyes. “Listen, I was talking to the receptionist earlier–”

“Sherry?”

“Yeah, Sherry. Apparently, the lab’s considering a scholarship fund for us local kids, you’re probably the top candidate for it! I can’t say the same for myself.”

“You could apply yourself more, Antonio.”

He thought that would get Antonio away from him, it didn’t. “Probably. How do you do it? You always seem like you have it all together.”

Mancini raised an eyebrow. “I do?”

“Yeah! Your whole family does. My cousin bought some earrings from your sister, now they’re the only pair she wears.”

Mancini wasn’t sure where this conversation was headed but he had a feeling Whitney would be smirking had she been there. He still thought Antonio had other motives. There was no way Antonio had this “crush” that Whitney thought he did. 

“I just manage my time really well, what can I say?” Mancini told him. “It’s all about schedules and calendars.”

Antonio groaned. “I’m so bad at that… Could you show me how you do it?”

Oblivious, Mancini replied, “I’m a little busy.”

“Right. Okay, well, I was heading to the computers to write up a report, I’ll see you around.”

“I’ll–” Mancini’s line of thought was completely disrupted when Dr. Browning approached Dr. Wells and struck up a conversation. “Dr. Browning…”

The scientist looked up at him and grinned. “You’ve heard of me?” They shook hands. “What’s your name, kid?”

“Mancini. I’m here for the summer program.”

“Wonderful to meet you!”

“You too. I had a kind of stupid fringe question for you. I mean… my sister does. She’s looking into the history of the town. She got this old book from the library that had a section about mermaid sightings and she’s become obsessed. She loves folklore. In the book, it says you saw a mermaid in the early eighties, or what might have been one… Is that true?”

Dr. Browning’s grin twitched slightly, but he kept it reasonably frozen on his face. What changed was in his eyes, it was as if the light had left them suddenly upon mention of the word ‘mermaid’. 

“Do you really have a sister? Because it’s okay for boys to be interested in mermaids.” 

Dr. Browning and Dr. Wells laughed, Mancini tried laughing with them. ”No, I really have a sister.”

“His sister sells jewelry around town.”

Dr. Browning shrugged. “I don’t know anyone who wears it, but I’m sure it’s very nice.” 

He started to walk away, but Mancini stopped him. “Not to intrude, but you didn’t answer my question.”

Dr. Browning sighed. “Son, it was the eighties. I was young. I was probably on acid or something. I’m sorry I couldn’t give a better answer.”

“Oh, alright. I’ll pass the message along.” 

Dr. Browning kept walking, and Dr. Wells turned to Mancini with a light chuckle. “Is your sister really fascinated by mermaids of all things? She didn’t strike me as the type.”

Mancini nodded. “You’d be surprised how fascinated she is.”

“Browning had this whole other life in the eighties,” said Dr. Wells. “Shit he still won’t tell me about and I’ve known him for  _ten years_! Maybe if he likes you enough, you’ll get the whole story.”

Mancini wasn’t so sure.

* * *

After dropping Mancini off, Whitney went shopping to get human clothes for Finn. She got him something a little nice that she thought would convince people that he was a friend from college coming to visit. She chuckled to herself in the shoe store because she suddenly became aware that he might have been shoe averse having never worn them before. The thought of him walking into a restaurant barefoot really tickled her. 

While her shoes were rung up, she suddenly remembered that it’d been a while since she’d been out with someone who wasn’t just a regular friend. She went on a few dates in college but they were with college men and she wasn’t expecting much, and dressed accordingly. Finn had only ever seen her in swimsuits, now that he was gonna see her in something else she cared. 

She stopped by a boutique in town, the owner was a woman she went to high school with, Hannah. They didn’t get along then, but their interactions had since softened. 

Hannah watched Whitney browse around halfheartedly. She was nervously wringing her hands, and Hannah had a feeling it might’ve been important, so she jumped into action. 

“Whit!”

“Hi, Hannah.”

“Can I help you? What’s the occasion?” She asked. “Is it a date?”

Whitney blinked. “It’s… complicated.”

“Good complicated? Bad complicated? Is he cute? Is she cute?”

“He’s gorgeous, but we’re not a thing.”

“Do you want it to be a thing?” When Whitney didn’t respond immediately, Hannah ushered her towards the changing room. “You have the kind of skin that works with every color, so we’re gonna try on every color.”

“Every color?”

“Whit.” She looked in her eyes. “Every. Color.”

Whitney waited in the changing room for a few minutes and Hannah returned with dresses in Every Color. Especially different shades of blue.

“Girls who grow up by the ocean are born to wear blue.” 

Whitney tried on every dress. They all looked good, especially the blue ones, but the one that took her by surprise was  _orange_. 

It was a warm orange, not too bright, but not dark. It played up the gold in her skin and in her eyes. The sleeves were off the shoulders and it stopped right above the knee. Whitney pushed her hair behind her ears to see how that would look, and she did a little pose.

Hannah grinned. “Oh… it’s gonna get a little less complicated after he sees you in this.” 


	9. only if for a night

“We have a problem!” exclaimed Mancini, he slammed the door of Whitney’s room behind him. Whitney was a little busy trying to figure out how she was doing her hair for their not-date with Finn that night. “Big problem! Totally overlooked!”

“Yeah, I know, it’s supposed to rain. But it won’t rain until, like, eleven, by then Finn will be back in his cove. No worries.”

Mancini shook his head. “We forgot dad, Whitney!” He sat on the edge of her bed. “The plan was: We get Finn out of the ocean, dry him off, have him get dressed here. How the fuck are we getting dad out of the house? It’s Friday, Whit! Tonight’s the night for his A-Team reruns and a couple of cheap beers.”

He was right, of course. Whitney was so preoccupied with how to get Finn to the house, she didn’t think about how to get their dad out of the house. She tapped her comb against her leg and tried thinking fast. 

“Maybe… Maybe we can get a neighbor to distract him.” She shook her head. “No…”

“Hell no!”

“Maybe daddy will believe Finn’s a friend from college.”

“He won’t. You’re a bad liar.” Mancini threw himself back on the bed. “Being friends with a mermaid is harder than I ever thought it would be.”

“You didn’t believe in mermaids before you met Finn.”

“Well I sure as hell believe in them now! I’m not getting many answers from the lab. Most of the doctors there just laugh when I ask about cryptids. I found out recently that in the forties, the Bay had a surge of sightings of giant man-bird things. Those were  _also_ missing from future archives. One is an incident, twice is a pattern.”

Whitney raised an eyebrow. “What? You think there’s a cover-up or something?”

“You don’t?”

She sighed. “I do… But I doubt it’s much more than people shrugging off an odd incident.”

“I feel like we’ve swapped brains. Aren’t I supposed to be the skeptic here? You’re the one getting ready for a mer-date but I think the bay is sitting on Area fifty-fucking-one.” 

There was no doubt in her mind that something was off, but Whitney’s priorities shifted the closer she got to Finn. Her brother was smart, smarter than smart. If he felt he was onto something, he usually was. “How about you ask around town? Go to the historical society.”

Mancini grinned. “Why didn’t I think of that? Maybe I could get dad to take me!”

“Tonight? But I thought–”

“Finn’s your merbae, I didn’t wanna play third wheel anyway. We could kill two birds with one stone. Are you in or are you in?”

“If you’re not there it’s a date.”

“I’m fully okay with that.”

“I have a feeling this was your agenda all along…” She sighed. “The historical society stays open late, they have nothing better to do. If anyone would know anything about the lore of the bay, it’s them. Tell them I sent you so you can get a free seashell cookie, tell daddy he can sit in the bar with Diego if he doesn’t wanna go in with you.”

Mancini smiled. “Aww sis, you going on a date!”

“I watched you come into this world, on God I will take you out.”

* * *

It took a bit of arguing, grumbling, and bargaining, but Mancini managed to drag their father out of the house. Whitney hung her pretty orange dress on her closet door for now and immediately rushed out to the sea. She rowed to the cove with a towel and a pair of swim trunks. 

“Finn!” Finn jetted up to the surface, but didn’t see her immediately. “Behind the rocks!”

He turned and waved, then he swam out to her boat and leaned on the side of it. _I’m so excited!_

Whitney smiled. “Me too. Mancini’s not coming, he had to distract our dad.”

Finn frowned.  _That’s alright- We’ll have fun without him._

She handed him the swim trunks. “Change into these then hop in, I’ll wait for you out here.”

Finn swam back into his cove and Whitney watched him change on the sand. 

* * *

The Bay’s Historical Society met in the heart of town, across the street from an old bar that all the fishermen went to. Mancini and his father parted ways at the crosswalk and he walked right in. 

The receptionist looked up with a smile. “You’re Whitney’s little brother!”

He chuckled nervously. “Do we look that much alike?”

“You’re both adorable. What can I do you for?”

“My sister and I are investigating the town’s paranormal history,” he said. “She suggested I come here, tell you she sent me… She said there were cookies involved.”

The receptionist stood and handed Mancini a big sugar cookie shaped like a seashell, just as Whitney said. He took it, then the receptionist pointed to the double doors at the end of the hall. “Go in there, ask for Greg. Greg’s the town crazy, he’d know about monsters.”

Mancini looked up at the doors and nodded. “Thanks.”

He walked down the hall and through the double doors, into an enormous room filled with dust, books, and old photographs. There were a few people walking around, having quiet conversations while they sorted through archives. They all froze when Mancini walked in. 

“I was told to speak to Greg.” A younger guy wearing an X-Files shirt did a 180 degree turn so quickly it hurt his neck. He rushed over to Mancini and shook his hand. “You must be Greg.”

“I must be! What do you need me to do for you?”

Greg smelled like Axe Body Spray and cold pizza, but he wasn’t too creepy. Although, Mancini did notice something shiny in his smile. “Are those… Vampire caps on your teeth?”

“Thanks for noticing, dude! No one else here did!”

“We noticed.” The other historians replied in unison. 

Greg looked back at them and scowled. “Bunch of rude asses… What’s up?”

“I’m investigating monsters and cryptids in the area.”

“Naturally.”

“Namely man-birds and mermaids.”

Someone behind Greg snickered at their desk. “Ignore them, they’ll all die in the zombie apocalypse. I know that because in every dream I’ve had, I am the lone survivor. Follow me.”

“Okay?”

Mancini followed Greg into what looked like a storage closet but was actually his office. It had weird monster posters on the walls and boxes labeled with ‘Bay Sea Dragon’ and ‘Bay Land Dragon (Extinct Until Further Notice)’. Greg cleared off a chair for Mancini to sit in and dropped two bins on his desk labelled ‘The Mermaids of the Cove’ and ‘The Bay Seagull’. 

“I know people say this a lot in movies but if you tell anyone I showed you this shit, I  _will_ have to kill you.” He opened the mermaid bin. “Let’s talk.”

* * *

Whitney zipped up her dress, she put on her earrings, and she took one last look at herself in the mirror. She had to admit she cleaned up nicely. She looked like the end of those romcoms where the lead girl gets a makeover. 

Finn knocked on her bedroom door, signalling that he was dressed and ready. She wondered why she was so nervous about him seeing her, it was like having bees set loose in the pit of her stomach, all buzzing and chaotic. She unplugged her phone and sent Mancini a text reminding him to call her when their father was on his way home, then she opened the door. 

Finn looked hot. He always looked hot, but this was new hot. This was the most clothes she’d ever seen him in and he was a bit uncomfortable but even he couldn’t deny he looked pretty sharp. He still smelled like the sea and his long hair was pulled back neatly, she felt her breath get caught. 

“Look at you…” she said. “Gorgeous.” 

Finn couldn’t respond to her compliment because his jaw was on the floor. He stepped back to get a good look at her, even asking her to spin for him. 

“Do I look good?”

_No words_. He signed. 

She giggled and hooked her arm around his. “Well, maybe you’ll have words once we’re in the restaurant.” She felt so flustered under his gaze. “God, stop, you’re inflating my ego.”

They walked to a nice restaurant by the shore. It felt a little wrong to get seafood with Finn, so she found the one place that didn’t really have it. The waitress sat them by the window and they took turns gazing out at the water while the other stared at them. Finn wasn’t as subtle as Whitney, he could barely take his eyes off of her.

The waitress took their drink orders and smiled at him. “Is this a date?”

“Um, no, he’s a friend from out of town.” Whitney replied. “We’re just catching up.”

The waitress nodded along but Finn’s eyes told a whole different story. “… Alright. I’ll be back.”

Whitney cleared her throat. “You really do look handsome,” she told him. “You look like a cross between a prince and a pirate.”

Finn laughed.  _Aren’t pirates gross?_

“Mostly, but you’re not gross.” She looked down. “I’m sorta happy it’s just us, Mancini eats like a football player.”

That statement seemed to astonish Finn. _He’s so skinny._

“I know, it doesn’t make any sense. I’m also happy because, well, I wanted to show you everything I love about the bay. I complain a lot, but this is my home…”

_Do you love this restaurant?_

She nodded. “I had my first date here. The guy wasn’t great. I didn’t feel like I could be myself around him. This is much better. I can tell you anything, it’s like I’ve known you for ages.”

_That means a lot to me- I feel the same way._ A faint blush covered his cheeks.  _Being around you makes me feel weird._

“Weird? How?”

_When it’s been hot and it starts to rain for the first time. Relieved-_ _Happy that you exist- I don’t know what word to describe it._

The waitress came with the drinks and Whitney tried to cover how touched she was. She stared out the window, occasionally looking over and finally catching Finn staring at her. 

“What?”

_Nothing._

The waitress smirked and signed back to him.  _Liar._

They ate, talked, and laughed for almost two hours, laughing sometimes to the brink of tears. Whitney hadn’t had this much fun since she was a teenager, she hadn’t felt this carefree since then. She had her doubts about bringing Finn to the shore, but now there wasn’t a single regret in her mind. Finn made her happy. He encouraged her, he sometimes challenged her, it was exactly what she needed. 

After dinner, they walked to the movie theater. There was a late showing of Carmen Jones. Zay eyed Finn as Whitney decided whether or not to buy tickets for it. 

“Carmen Jones is good but it’s a little dark,” she said.

Zay shrugged and tried to make himself look taller. “Good film is good film.”

“Isaiah, the  _one time_  I ask for your opinion you don’t give it.” Whitney said with a smile. She turned on the charm. “Can we get the usual discount?”

“Yeah,” Zay said. “But only if you’re seeing Carmen Jones.”

“Oh, c’mon dude.”

“Hey, your fine ass is lucky I can even hand out discounts like that.” 

She rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Is anything fun showing at all?”

Zay sighed. “Old Movie Fridays is having a double feature, Carmen Jones and A New Kind of Love starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. The latter is a romcom… Not that it matters…”

“Two tickets to that then, Zay.”

She handed over enough money to pay the full ticket price, but Zay put his hand up. “Save it, you can get the discount. Orange is your color.”

She smiled and put away the extra cash. “That’s the spirit.” 

As they walked into the theater, Finn gently nudged her.  _What was his problem?_

“Human men are sad,” she replied. “Very, very sad. Always.”

They got candy and sat for the movie. Whitney laid her head down on Finn’s shoulder and he really hoped she couldn’t hear his heart racing. 

* * *

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Mancini was losing his fucking mind. Greg laid down an extensive history of sightings dating back to before the town existed and was merely a port. Mermaids had been a regular fixture in the lore of the bay up until 1982, and Greg grew irate thinking about why. 

“That book your sister got is a yearly summary done by the Historical Society, we publish them in collaboration with local organizations and the government. What are they hiding when they ask us to eliminate the sightings of local cryptids? No one believes people when they see them, so it’s not like it’ll do much harm!”

“Do people still report mermaid sightings?”

“Occasionally, as far as I can tell. I left posters by the shore telling people to call my office if they see mermaids and the police won’t listen.”

“That shitty punk edit of Ariel is your’s?”

“Don’t judge me, I’m an artist. The point is. The nature of the sightings has changed in a way I never noticed before this very meeting, my friend.” He reopened a few of the files. “Pre-82, all sightings are of a family of mermaids. Mom. Dad. A couple of merlets. It’s always a family. The new sightings are all of a single merman. What does that say to you?”

Mancini’s brows furrowed. “Something happened to the rest.”

Greg pounded on his desk with his fist. “SOMETHING! HAPPENED! TO THE! REST! But what happened? Is the lone merman a cannibal?!” Mancini dismissed the thought. “How do you kn–”

The room froze. Mancini sighed. “Shit…”

“You’ve fucking seen him, haven’t you? You and Whitney both.”

“Goddamnit…”

Greg put the files back into their bin.  “You gotta go. Go home, you were never here.”

“What?!”

“Every person who saw a mermaid pre-82 is either dead or in a nursing home or has left town for some ‘better job opportunity’. I’m protecting you, you have to go.”

Mancini stood up. “Well, damn, can I get your number at least?”

Greg tossed a business card in his direction then gently ushered him towards the door. “If you call and my step-dad answers, pretend you’re a woman. But don’t fucking call, Mancini.”

Before Mancini could ask anything else, the door was slammed in his face. The other historians shook their heads. “Don’t y’all have history to do? Mind your business.”

* * *

The movie ended and the credits rolled, Whitney and Finn hurried back to the shore to keep from getting caught in the rainfall. There were a few fishermen on the far side, so they had to keep quiet while Finn stripped down and Whitney pretended not to look. Easier said than done with all the giggling they were doing. 

It had been a great night, the best either of them had possibly ever had. They never wanted it to end. Whitney felt like letting Finn go back to the cove was a return a version of life in the bay that was a lot less fun. She could already feel anxiety building about what her dad’s reaction to her dress would be.

Finn was naked now, and ready to return. Whitney actually wasn’t looking. She seemed… sad.

He raised her chin up to have her look at him, and he smiled at her and signed,  _We should do this again- Maybe not tomorrow- Soon._  She nodded.  _Thank you, sunshine._

She shrugged and let a stray tear fall. _No problem, moonlight._

Finn wiped her tear away and moved a little closer.  _Don’t be sad_. 

He leaned down and pressed a sweet kiss to her lips and they seemed to freeze the rest of the world for a moment. Whitney felt more tears fall, but they were happy tears as Finn cradled her neck and brought the kiss deeper.

The first drops of rain fell like reality crashing down on them. She pulled away from him and wiped her eyes with the back of her hands.

“I should… I should go…” She shook her head. 

_Was it bad?_

She smiled. “It was the best, but I should go.” She kissed him on his cheek. “You should go, too.” 


	10. a discovery of sorts

The kettle whistled and Whitney hummed alone in the kitchen. She turned off the burner and poured the boiling water into her mug, then set it aside to let the tea brew. Behind her, Mancini watched with a quizzical expression as his sister’s good mood filled the usually neutral and quiet house with song. 

She turned to him and smiled. “You want tea?”

“I have orange juice,” he said, holding his cup up. “ _You poured me this orange juice, remember?_ ”

Whitney giggled. “Right!”

“Right.” 

Her toast popped out of the toaster and she hummed her way over to the cabinet and grabbed the jelly. “You never told me what happened at the Historical Society.”

“You were sleep when I got home… I think… Your door was locked.”

“Was it?” She smacked herself on the forehead. “I don’t remember doing that.”

“You don’t remember locking your door?”

“Last night was a blur.” 

“Mhmm…” 

Their father walked into the kitchen and smelled breakfast and Whitney’s humming caught him by surprise. He looked to Mancini for further explanation and received none. She kissed him on the cheek.

“Mornin’!”

He grinned, but was still overwhelmingly lost. “The fuck are you so happy about?”

“I just woke up happy. Got a lot of sleep.” She giggled again. “You two should be happier.”

Mancini looked down and laughed. “Did you go for a night swim?” Whitney turned to him. “See anything new out there?”

“I did go to the beach last night, but it was to collect shells. Nothing else happened.”

“Some depths are still unknown to man, I see…”

If that weren’t such a good joke, she’d be mad. But she was in a great mood, and nothing could ruin it, nothing at all. She sat down across from her brother. It was one of those mornings where the sound of the sea nearby felt so much more vivid. She found herself staring out the window, her father’s voice in the distance…

“Whit!”

Her head whipped around. “Hmm?”

“I want you to take me fishing with you tonight,” he told her. “Show me how you do it so well, so you don’t have to go out so late alone anymore.”

Whitney and Mancini’s stomachs dropped at the same time. Mancini choked on his bacon. There was no easy way to say, ‘I’m cheating the system of fishing by having a merman do it’, so she just chose not to. 

“Uh, you don’t have to do that, daddy. I’m more than capable and I’ve been on my own for a while.”

He shrugged. “I know, but we don’t spend much time together during the day, this could be our thing.”

“Must we have a thing?” she asked. “I love you, daddy. I do. But there’s so little time I have to myself and I’m with you all day in the market! We have fun there, don’t we?”

He shook his head. “We don’t talk then.”

“We should! You could just turn around and start a conversation with me at any point in the usually five hours we’re out there every other day. It’s boring anyway.”

“Why you don’t wanna fish with me no more?” he asked. “You ashamed of me or something, Miss. Bachelors Degree.”

Mancini sighed. “Whoop, there it is…”

Whitney was determined to keep her mood up, so she kept the smile on her face. “Come on, if I were ashamed of you, I would’ve left the Bay.”

“Ain’t you always talking about how there’s nothing here for you?”

“Yeah, well, I was wrong. I know that now. I’m sorry.”

“Apology accepted, let me fish with you tonight.”

“No, daddy,  _please_. Let me have time to breathe, you’re making me sound like I’m fifteen years old again. I’m a grown ass woman.”

“You’re a grown ass woman when you get married and move out.”

Mancini blinked in shock and sat back. He watched his sister try to keep it together, and slowly reached a hand over, but she pulled away from him.

“Why do you really want to go fishing with me? There’s always something.”

“Oh please…”

“When I was a kid you banned me from sleepovers, when I was in high school I had to beg you months in advance to let me go to prom, and now this? I get that it’s been hard for you because mom’s gone but you can’t hold on to everything and keep it contained to this house.”

The sunshine was the only warmth in that room. Their father turned his back to Whitney, and she knew this fight wasn’t over. “Fine. Do what you want. You wanna be alone, be alone. Whatever man you’re meeting up with at night that’s got you humming negro spirituals and making tea is just gonna let you down and I don’t want you to come crying to me.” He walked out of the kitchen and down the hall. “Lost my damn appetite dealing with your ungrateful, useless ass!”

_Slam!_ The heavy bedroom door almost snapped from it’s hinges. Whitney took a bite of her toast. Mancini got up and walked to the kettle.

“What you doing?”

“Making some tea. I’m stressed, bitch.” Whitney took a sip of her own tea. “And that little display is only a  _fraction_  of what I’m dealing with.”

“What the hell did you see at the Historical Society?”

“Possibly too much. I’ve seen too much, you’ve seen too much. Too much is a large merman with a damn pretty smile and soft lips.”

Immediately, she was giddy again. “Yeah…”

“I FUCKIN’ KNEW IT. How far did it go?”

“Just a kiss.”

“Aww!” Mancini sat back down with his tea. “I told you he wanted you.”

“So how is Finn ‘too much’?”

“Oh yeah, right. Here’s the thing. The reason there aren’t any mermaid sightings after ‘81 isn’t because people have stopped seeing mermaids, the mermaids are disappearing! In the early sixties, people saw a family of mermaids, now it’s just Finn.”

“Finn said his mother was taken away…”

“Yeah, but by who?”

“Do you think she was kidnapped?” she posited. “Maybe… Maybe someone fished her out and kept her.”

“If they did, they’re dead, crazy, or gone.” Mancini said. “With the exception of Dr. Browning, everyone else who has seen a mermaid is dead, crazy, or gone.”

“You don’t think that’ll happen to us, do you?”

“I’ve been thinking about that happening to us for hours, Whitney. I can’t say I’m a fan of that concept.”

“What makes Browning so special?”

Mancini shrugged. “He’s a scientist, he’s well-respected all over the world, maybe whoever is getting rid of people doesn’t want to draw that much attention to themselves.”

“Yeah, but he doesn’t have to die. You said some people just went crazy or are gone, why not him?” Mancini shrugged again. “Stop that! I think Browning knows more than he’s letting on.”

“Oh, he does. He laughed in my face, it was awful for my youthful self-este–” Mancini froze and stared into his tea. Whitney’s brows knit together, she leaned forward and snapped in his face. “Antonio’s doing some side research under Browning…”

“So?”

“ _So_  he has spare keys to Browning’s office.” He sighed and pulled out his phone. “I have to call fucking Antonio…”

Whitney grinned. “I’ve always liked Antonio.”

“I know you have and it makes me sick.” 

The phone rang twice before Antonio answered. In a cheerful voice, he exclaimed, “Mancini! You’re calling me?”

“Yeah, I need a favor, don’t get excited.”

“Too late, buddy. I’m way past excited. What’s the favor? You got it.”

“Anything?”

“Anything at all, Mancini.”

“ _Anything_? With no conditions attached?”

There was a pause. “Well… You could get coffee with me. You don’t have to, you can say no. You’re always so busy, I get it. I just see you so much in school because we have the same schedule and now with this internship I’m seeing you even more but we never talk, and I always liked you… I mean, I always thought I would like you… I’ll shut up.”

“What? You never liked me! You’re always saying passive aggressive things to me like ‘Good work at the science fair’.”

Antonio laughed. “That was a compliment, Mancini. I was complimenting you.”

“Oh shit…” He tried to ignore the fact that his sister was now laughing at him too. “Oh fuck I completely got that wrong…”

“But what was the favor, Mancini?”

“I, uh, I… I forgot?” Whitney cleared her throat. “Right! Um, Dr. Browning’s spare office keys, do you have them?”

“Hmm, why?”

“I’m trying to do that teenager thing and try delinquency.”

“I mean, that’s a weird way to do it, but alright. I’ll bring you the key on Monday. Dr. Browning goes to lunch for an hour everyday at two and I organize his files.” 

“Th-Thank you Antonio.”

“Any time, man. See you then!”

“See you.”

“Tell your sister I said hi!”

“She heard you, buh-bye!” 

Mancini quickly hung up the phone and dropped it as if it were on fire. Then he stood up and paced. Whitney was still laughing, now to the point of tears. “You okay, Man-Man?”

“I have to, uh, go… Take a shower.” He rushed off to the hallway and Whitney heard a door slam. ”Shit, that’s not a fucking bathroom.” She heard a second door slam. 

“Boy, stop slamming my doors!” shouted her father. 

“DAD, I’M IN CRISIS!”

“Be in crisis quietly!”  __


	11. the subject

Breaking rules didn’t come easily to Mancini, he was a goody two-shoes by default. He tended to have rebellious ideas and then wimp out prior to their execution. He was really considering wimping out when Antonio walked up to him right before Dr. Browning’s scheduled lunch break. 

“Hey, Mancini.”

“Hi, Antonio. You got the key?” He dangled the key in front of Mancini’s face. “I can’t thank you enough.”

“My offer for coffee is still on the table.”

Mancini’s throat went dry and he let out a high-pitched nervous laugh. “Can we talk about it after we break into Dr. Browning’s office?”

“Sure.” When Antonio promised not to ask questions, he meant it. He started leading Mancini there immediately without so much as a thought to why Mancini needed to break into Dr. Browning’s office. “Dr. Browning’s office always smells like seaweed by the way. You probably don’t have a problem with that but it’s not pleasant.”

“Why seaweed?”

Antonio shrugged. “He’s heavily involved with the fishing community out here, I think he’s a fisherman on the side. He has a lot of pictures of the bay and the ocean on his walls.”

“So do I.”

They got to Dr. Browning’s office and Antonio smiled back at Mancini. “Of course you do.”

Mancini stood watch while Antonio opened the door. “Can I ask you a personal question?”

“Shoot.”

“Are you into guys?” Mancini asked. “Because since I called you I’ve been getting mixed signals.”

Antonio raised an eyebrow. “Mixed signals? Asking you out on a date is mixed signals? What kind of guys have you been with?”

“None.”

“I find that hard to believe.” He pushed the door open. “Yeah, Mancini, I’m into guys.”

“Cool, cool, cool, cool…”

They walked into Dr. Browning’s office. It was meticulously cleaned with boxes all organized and labelled. He didn’t seem to have a chair for anyone to sit in for meetings, nor did he have a calendar. His walls were, as Antonio described, covered with pictures of the bay and the ocean. But Mancini’s eyes grew wide as soon as he realized what part of the bay and ocean he was fixated on: Finn’s cove. 

“Aw, shit.”

“What?”

“It’s a long, weird story, you wouldn’t believe me, but that cove… Why is he obsessed with that cove?”

Antonio ran his fingers through his dark hair. “I asked him why and he told me that he’d met his wife around that area.”

“He’s married? What does his wife look like?”

“His wife’s dead.”

“That isn’t an answer to my question.”

Antonio shrugged and walked behind the desk. “Nope, he doesn’t have any pictures of her. It’s fucking weird, right? One of the dudes working under him has a conspiracy that he murdered her and that’s why he’s so clean and don’t talk to nobody. He doesn’t even leave his house. I don’t even know where he lives.”

Mancini stared at the pictures of the cove again. “Huh…”

Antonio smiled. “Oh, you got your cute thinking face on.”

“My WHAT?” His eyes moved over to the shelves. There was a box marked ‘COVE PROJECT’. He reached up for it and Antonio went to help. “Did you just call me cute?”

“Yeah, wouldn’t want you getting mixed signals.”

Mancini laughed. “Let it go.”

They set the box down on the floor and Mancini started going through it. He found a transcript of one of Browning’s reports dated 1999. 

_The SUBJECT functions well on land but still yearns for water. She’s tried to escape again. Her instincts are to survive, or to return to her family…_

“This is weird…”

“What is it?”

“He’s talking about keeping something from it’s family, a female fish maybe…” _Or a mermaid…_

He read little further down,

_… unsteady on two feet when she runs, steady when she walks. I can’t take her outside or I’ll lose her or have to get rid of her like I did her mate. I don’t want to get rid of her. This one shows a sensitivity that her male counterpart lacked._

“I think he’s holding this thing hostage, or held it hostage?” 

He put the file back and tried to find the latest one. it was from 2010. Mancini opened it to find another transcript.

_The SUBJECT: Marina is deceased. After starving herself, she became feral and agitated. She would not accept my company or let me study her further. I had to put her down. I did it humanely, I gave her sleeping pills._

_The work her existence has allowed me to carry out has been invaluable… But now, I’m afraid to say, I’m lonely._

“Holy SHIT!” Mancini put the file away, then rushed to put the box back. “We were never here, okay?”

“What did you see?”

“You don’t wanna know.” Mancini looked out the window and saw that the hallway was clear. “We need to go…”

He grabbed Antonio’s arm and pulled him out. Antonio made sure he didn’t leave anything behind before locking the door again. “Was it illegal?”

“Not technically, but it was scary.”

“Well, tell me then! Is Dr. Browning doing something unethical to the fish?” he asked. Mancini’s lips stayed sealed. Antonio took his hand. “Hey, whatever it is, I’ll back you up. I’ll keep you from getting fired if  we report him together. Browning creeps me out.”

He sighed. “Antonio… What would you say to going to the Historical Society with me after we get coffee?”

Antonio squeezed his hand a little. “You had me at ‘Antonio’.”

* * *

Whitney and her father stayed silent in the marketplace, as Whitney sold jewelry in the stand beside where her father sold fish. She was cheerful as could be to her customers but he was giving her the cold shoulder, and that just agitated her. Regardless, they worked on.

A man in a lab coat approached her father’s stand. He asked for some fried fish. As he waited, he looked at Whitney’s jewelry, particularly a necklace with a peach colored stone dangling from it.

“You must be Mancini’s sister… Those are peculiar stones and shells,” he said. “Peculiar indeed, only found in one place, I believe. Do you find these yourself?”

She nodded. “Me and a friend of mine.”

He observed them closer. “Yes, these are all from the cove, aren’t they?”

“Yeah!” she said. “They make those gift shop necklaces look generic, don’t they? Would your wife want something like this?”

“My wife’s dead. If she were alive, I’m sure she’d enjoy your work.”

“Oh. Sorry for your loss, Dr…” 

She scanned for a name tag but didn’t find one, and he didn’t give her a name before he was handed his fish. He picked up a pair of earrings. “I do have a sister who might like these, how much?”

“Ten bucks.”

“A steal!” He handed her the money and shook her hand. “Nice doing business with you.”

“You too.”

The scientist left. Whitney wasn’t sure why, but something felt off about that exchange. After he’d gotten everything, he was off in a hurry, avoiding touch with everyone in his way. 

Her father scoffed. “A sale you wouldn’t have made had he not been hungry.”

“For the fish I caught, daddy. For the fish I caught.”

* * *

Whitney later shared the details of the incident with the scientist with Finn, whose response was,

_Weird._

“Just ‘weird’.”

_Suspicious._ He shrugged. _What do you want me to say?_

“Am I really the first person to come here?”

_The first to come back, and my favorite- I remember the faces of everyone I’ve helped- The man you described was not one of them._

“Mancini might know who he was. He’s been out all day, he asked me not to pick him up after work.”

_Does he have a boyfriend?_

“Not yet. He’s investigating this theory he has about a town cover-up of the existence of mermaids. I think my brother would make a great journalist if biology doesn’t work out.”

_He takes after you- Very smart._

“You’re just saying that to get me to kiss you.”

_Did it work?_

Whitney nodded and kissed him. “You’re annoying, you know that?” She kissed him again. “You’re cute and you’re annoying.” 

Finn pulled away.  _Maybe the scientist in the market and the theory are linked._

“Maybe, but then what does that mean?”

_It’s a mystery that you can solve with your big, beautiful brain._

Whitney became flustered and giggly. Finn grinned, so proud of himself. She wrapped her arms around his neck and looked into his eyes. “You are so annoying.”

They kissed and she clung to him. It always worked. 


	12. danger approacheth

Whitney paced, flipping her car keys in the air. Mancini wasn’t home, and he was nearly ten minutes late for work. She called him for the third time and he finally answered the phone. 

“Whit, I’m at work.”

She scoffed. “You could have TOLD me that. I was ready to print missing fucking persons posters. Where have you been?”

At the facility, Mancini excused himself to the bathroom and locked himself inside of a stall. “Antonio lives closer to the Historical Society, I stayed there for the night. His auntie made me waffles and drove us up here early. It doesn’t matter. We have stumbled on something big. We’re talking government conspiracy, kidnapping, experimentation, creepy white men, and now MURDER.”

“Who was murdered?”

“A mermaid Dr. Browning named ‘Marina’. According to my guy at the Historical Society, she was the adult mermaid in the big family people used to see in the cove. Dr. Browning kept her in his basement and she decided to starve herself so he put her down.”

“Oh my God… Do you think…”

“Yes, I do think Dr. Browning murdered Finn’s parents, thanks for asking.” He sighed. “The only problem is that I didn’t keep the files and the guy’s squeaky clean so he probably noticed that he’d been tampered with.”

“Mancini!”

“It wasn’t smart to keep the files! I had my phone but I wasn’t thinking because I was rattled, I’m sorry.” 

“’Rattled’?”

“You know I talk like a grandma when I’m nervous, can it!”

“’Can it’? Whatever. Where does the good doctor live?”

“Are you gonna kill him?”

“No, I’m getting evidence. But if he tries something, I will kill him.”

Mancini laughed. “You’re too soft. You’re too soft for prison, too. You’re just… You’re so soft. You still have stuffed animals.”

“Do you have his address or not?”

“No, of course not, but I could get it.” 

“Alright. Thank you. Oh, I should probably mention that a weird guy in a lab coat came and bought jewelry from me. He knew the shells came from the cove.” 

“Tall? Pale? Balding? Ugly glasses?”

“Yup!”

“Dr. Browning, oh God…” Mancini let out long breath and tried to think. It was hard to think while panicking in the worst smelling bathroom on earth, but he somehow managed it. “We… We might have to keep Finn out of the water for a while.”

“How long is a while?”

“A lot longer than Finn would probably prefer…” 

Their father walked into the living room, Whitney immediately walked out to her car and sat in the driver’s seat. “He won’t agree to that, Mancini.”

“He might if we convince him that his life’s in danger.” 

She leaned her head on the steering wheel. “He’s taken arrows, hooks, and bullets in practically every space on his body and you think he cares if his life’s in danger?”

Mancini’s eye twitched with a stupid idea. Stupider than any idea he’d had before, probably a greater risk than any idea he’d ever had. But it was the right idea. But it was a  _stupid_  idea. 

“Alright so, we get dad drunk on his favorite beer…”

“Oh fuck no, Man-Man!”

“Daddy might like Finn!”

“Daddy barely likes Diego, his  _best friend_. Do you really think he’d like meeting my merboyfriend? You really think him and Finn will have good, positive conversations about fishing and the bay?” 

“C’mon, Finn’s charming!”

“Finn likes being naked, Mancini. He’s very comfortable being naked around people and around me.”

“Tell him… Not… To do that? I mean, it’s not like you’re sleeping together, right?”

“That’s true, but–”

“We need to keep him away from the cove until Browning’s suspicions subside. Where else but here?”

Nowhere. There was nowhere to hold him where they could guarantee his safety. They couldn’t really trust anyone with this precious of a secret, now that they knew how grave the risk was. If anything happened to Finn because of their relationship, Whitney wouldn’t have been able to bear it. 

“Fine, but it’ll probably be hard getting him out of the water, and he has to stay in your room.”

“Why mine?”

_Tap-Tap._  She turned to the left and acknowledged her father’s irritated expression with a nod, then returned to the call. “If he stays in mine, it’ll be a bigger problem than it needs to be. I have to go.”

She hung up the phone and opened the passenger’s side door for him. He got in and raised an eyebrow. 

“Is your brother okay?”

“Yeah, he’s fine. Hey, do you wanna go drinking tonight with me?” 

He grinned. “Sure.”

“Cool.” 

“Glad you’re not pissed at me.” She gripped the steering wheel tight. “Ease up.”

“I’m fine, I’m not nervous.”

* * *

Night fell, and Mancini rowed his way out to the cove on his own. The plan really only consisted of two parts: While Whitney got their dad drunk, he would sneak Finn into the house. It was simple enough.

It was simple enough, right?

Mancini explained the situation to Finn, careful to leave out the grittier details for now. “So, like, you won’t be back in the water for a while… Unless we go to the pool… Damn it, I forgot the fucking pool.”

Finn laughed. _Mancini, if my life’s really in danger, I can handle it._

He shook his head. “I have no doubts about that, my man. I’m just saying, this might be a little hairy and Whitney wants to make sure you’re safe when we can’t see you.” Finn considered it. “Do it for her sanity.”

He dove under the water. After a few moments of nothing, he appeared at the side of the boat. He put his hair up and sighed.  _I love Whitney and I don’t want her to worry- But I belong to the water._

“We’ll find a way for you to still be in water until the coast is clear. Like I said, there’s a pool.”

Finn nodded.  _Alright._

He climbed into the boat. Mancini handed him a pair of swim trunks and waited for him to slip them on before starting to row back to the shore. Then his brain caught up to his ears. 

“Hold on, you love my sister?”


	13. liquid courage

Whitney’s conversations with her father ran much smoother when he was drunk. It was like liquid luck for the both of them. She hadn’t had anything to drink, since someone had to drive home and also explain the house-guest. Mancini had already texted her to tell her that Finn was in his room setting up a spot to sleep on the floor. 

She wasn’t religious, but prayers were spouting from her the closer they got to home. 

She parked in the driveway, her father nearly stumbled out of the car on his own, when she ran out to grab him. He smiled at her. 

“Your momma used to do this all the time when we were younger,” he told her. “All the time, we’d come home and I’d be just gone. She hated the smell of alcohol.”

“Yeah? We were so much alike.” 

Whitney carried him inside and tried carrying him to his room, but he had her settle him down on the couch. Before he could ask, the tv was on. 

She looked down the hall towards Mancini’s room. “I’ll be right back…” She rushed over to her brother’s room and poked her head inside. Mancini was playing video games with Finn watching. Whitney rolled her eyes. “You are such a teenage boy.”

“Did you tell him yet?”

“I don’t know how to! I’m panicking!” She closed the door and walked to where her boyfriend was sitting, kissing him as a greeting. “Is he torturing you in here?”

Finn shook his head.  _Not yet._ Whitney smiled. _Why can’t I sleep with you?_

“Because our dad is terrified of Whitney moving out of the bay and she always used to say that if she met a guy she’d move out of the bay, and you’re a guy she’s met.”

Whitney nodded. “It’s nothing personal.” Finn understood. “… But, he’s a heavy sleeper so he wouldn’t notice if you snuck over.”

“I’d notice,” said Mancini. “I’d notice everything.”

She groaned. “Or… We could go out. Find somewhere quiet.”

_Mancini said there was a pool._ Finn signed, his eyes lighting up.  _You could be in the water with me._

Whitney smiled. “Perfect, it’ll be like nothing changed.”

“Well, the type of water changed, but it’s still water.” Mancini looked back at them. “Or I could shut up.”

Inside the living room, their father watched tv. In his drunken state, he could still hear the conversation inside of Mancini’s room, but only from a distance. It felt warbled. He didn’t really care what they were talking about, but Whitney said she’d be right back and he was too drunk to get up and grab water from the kitchen. 

“Whit!” he shouted. “Get me some water, please?”

She cringed. “I don’t know what I’m doing, help me.”

“Tell him the friend from college lie.”

“That might not end well.”

“He’s drunk! Just try it.”

Hesitant, Whitney left the room and made her way to the kitchen to get her dad water. “Sorry, daddy. Mancini distracted me.”

“It’s fine. I love how you two get along. I remember y’all fighting all the time when you were younger and meaner. That’s when you really reminded me of me.”

She rubbed the back of her neck. “Yeah, thanks…” She handed him the water. “Daddy, I got something to tell you, so long as you promise not to freak out on me.”

He laughed. “In my state, you could stab me and I’d be fine.”

She laughed nervously. “Yes, yes, let’s keep that jovial spirit… A friend of mine from school is in town and he’s staying with us for a couple of days, maybe a week or two. He’s not in my room, he’s in Mancini’s. Mancini knows him too.”

He stopped laughing. Whitney took a deep breath and tried to read this new expression but she couldn’t. He took a sip of his water. 

“Nothing weird’s going on, I’m not even into him! He’s… White.” She winced. 

“There’s a white man sleeping in Mancini’s room?” he asked, almost half-chuckling. 

Whitney took that as a cue to laugh too. “Yeah, he’s sleeping on the floor. He’s 6′3 so you can’t miss him.”

They laughed and laughed. Her father radiated drunken giddiness. “As long as he ain’t fuckin’ you, we alright.”

“Haha, don’t be stupid-  _Silly!_  I mean silly!” She giggled some more. “I’m going to bed now.”

He laughed. “Goodnight, Whit! Tell your little friend I said goodnight.”

“Uh-huh!”

She got up and ran back to Mancini’s room, letting out the huge breath she’d been holding. Mancini grinned. 

“Well done, you scammer!”

* * *

Later that night, feeling a bit risky, Whitney snuck into Mancini’s room and grabbed Finn, pulling him back to her room to sleep that first night with her. 

He wrapped his arms around her like he never wanted to let her go. She let her head rest on his chest to listen to his heartbeat. The bed felt warmer and softer with him in it. Finn looked down and watched Whitney fall asleep with a gentle look in his eyes. The sound of her breathing made his own eyelids heavy. 

They dreamed about each other. 


	14. part of that world

Whitney and Finn woke up earlier than everyone else in the house. They got dressed for the day and made breakfast while the sun rose over the bay. Finn loved sunrises. He loved the way the sky made the sea look violet, he loved the way the pink reflected in the brown of Whitney’s eyes. Her father wasn’t awake yet, so she settled herself in Finn’s lap and sipped her coffee, watching all the fishermen go off to work. 

_This place is full of good people._  Finn signed.

“It is,” Whitney said. “Mostly. Places like this have to be that way. Everyone only has each other. Did you ever come ashore before we met?”

_I was always afraid to- I thought someone would come for me, like they did my family._

“That probably saved your life, but I can imagine that it made you very… Lonely.”

_Not anymore._  He kissed her shoulder.  _Right?_

She smiled. “I’m not going anywhere.”

One of the science facility’s vans passed the house, and Whitney watched as it did. Finn felt her tense up and leaned his head on her. Touch always calmed her down, he’d discovered. 

_I’m not going anywhere either_.

“God, you’re gonna make me cry…” She laughed at herself. “You know what I had a dream about last night?”

_What?_

“I had a dream that you and I had our own little place along the bay, away from everyone else. It was right by the sea and you’d swim and fish all day. I was wearing a gown for some reason.”

_Sounds perfect._

“Did you have a dream last night? You were giggling in your sleep.”

_Was I? That’s embarrassing._

“It was cute! What was your dream about?”

Finn snickered.  _You got a tail of your own and had no idea how to swim with it._

Whitney laughed. “Wow, that’s what you think of me!” Finn laughed harder. “It’s not funny!”

_You’re laughing!_

“That’s because I’m picturing me just flopping around in the water and you thinking it’s cute.”

_It was cute!_

Footsteps approached and Whitney quickly moved away from Finn and waited to see if it was her father coming their way. There was a great sense of relief when Mancini turned the corner instead.

“Mornin’, fam.” He sniffed the air. “Coffee…”

Whitney pressed an embarrassing coffee-scented kiss to her brother’s forehead that he promptly wiped off. “You need to shower, you have work.”

Mancini poured himself a cup of coffee. “About that, I was thinking and I don’t know if it’s completely level-headed to keep working in the vicinity of the guy that probably hurt my friend’s family.”

“Mancini, I need you to stay at the facility to keep an eye on Browning, okay?”

“He makes me feel icky, like you know when you’re at a restaurant and you touch a table and your hand sticks to it?”

“Man-Man!”

He whined. “Fine! But only because we’re looking at local starfish today and I can’t miss that shit.” He sipped his coffee. “Plus, I might have possibly promised Antonio lunch with me.”

“Look at you, Rico Suave.”

“No, I am sweating from every pore just thinking about it. I’m thinking about taking two showers.”

_You’ll be fine!_ Finn signed with a smile.  _Just be yourself._

“I’m an asshole. I was an asshole to Antonio for most of the time that I’ve known him. I don’t know how to be a normal human being around him. What do we talk about? He likes.. I think he likes folk music…”

“Don’t panic, Finn’s right, you’ll be fine.”

Mancini took a deep breath, but that didn’t help much. “I’m gonna take three showers, just to be safe.” 

He rushed off and Whitney turned to Finn. “’Be yourself’?”

He shrugged.  _I didn’t know what else to fucking say_.

* * *

After dropping Mancini off at work, Whitney and Finn went back home for her phone charger. Her father was bringing the fish out to load the truck when she parked in front of the house. 

This was gonna be weird.

“Good morning, daddy!” she said, stepping out the truck first. 

“Hey Whit, I saw your note on the fridge, you really not coming with me today?”

“Nah, I don’t have enough to sell. I came back for my charger.” 

He looked at Finn in the passengers seat. “That your houseguest?”

She nodded. “That’s him. That’s Finn.”

“Well, introduce us, Whit.”

“Right!” 

She motioned for Finn to come out of the car and he did, nervously. Immediately, her father sized him up with typical overprotective posturing. She stayed between the two men, even when they shook hands.

“Firm handshake. You’re a big one.”

_I’m Finn_ , he signed.

“Your friend is deaf?”

“He’s mute. He just said his name was Finn.”

Her father raised an eyebrow. “You look familiar, you related to somebody around here? Your momma or something from around here?”

Finn wasn’t sure how to lie, so Whitney decided to try it out. “His mom might have passed through at some point. He’s from out of town. Not far at all.”

“Like, Orchidsville?” Finn and Whitney nodded. “Oh that’s a shithole. Welcome to the bay.” He carried the fish to the truck, tapping Finn’s arm on the way. “Don’t try any funny stuff with my daughter or I’ll get those lab coats at the science facility to feed you to a shark or something.”

“What the fuck, dad?”

“I’m kiddin’. You so serious, girl.”

They waited for him to drive off and Finn shook his head.  _I didn’t like that._

“Yeah, I didn’t think you would.” 

They walked to the Historical Society. The receptionist knew Whitney and didn’t ask before letting her through to the back. She looked around the room and raised an eyebrow. 

“Greg!”

From the small side room, Greg came bumbling out. “Is that Miss. Whitney come to see me again?” he asked. “Oh, and she’s brought a friend.”

Whitney smiled. “It’s been a while.”

“Too long, I’d say. Is this about the matters that I’ve discussed with your brother?” She nodded. “Follow me. We recently had a visit from the sheriff’s department so I’m searching for the bug they definitely planted on me, pardon my dust.”

They followed him to his office, which was in completely disarray with the exception of an untouched autographed picture of Dane Dehaan. 

“Should I ask?”

“It’s a side passion. Now tell me what you know and keep your voice low.” 

“I’ve brought physical proof of the existence of mermaids.”

Greg smiled from ear to ear. “Tell me you’re serious.”

“As the grave,” she replied. “Finn, meet Greg. Greg, meet Finn.”

Greg froze. Finn waved at him and signed,  _Pleased to meet you!_

“Tell me you’re not serious.”

“Finn is the mysterious mermaid of the cove, I’m serious Greg. I wouldn’t lie to you.”

“You’re the lone survivor, the last of a great bay legacy… What the hell are you doing here? Hasn’t Mancini told you how dangerous it is to be an ally of the local merfolk? You’re risking all of our lives right now. I’ve been on high alert since that meeting with your brother.”

“I know, Greg. I’m aware. He’s hiding with me and Mancini. We know who hurt the rest of his family.”

“Yes, your brother came by with his boyfriend and told me about Dr. Browning. Knowing is dangerous!” Greg said. “Whatever you want, I can’t do it! There are scientists combing the bay right now. They say they’re fishing for invasive species, I don’t know anything about fish but that sounds like a load of bullshit to me. They’re looking for him and, consequently, looking for you. So–”

“ _Gregory_. I have always know you to be brave and risk-taking. You wore a polka dot suit to prom.”

“I enjoy a fashion statement.”

“You are the only person in the bay who will understand,” Whitney said. She reached across the desk and took his hand. “I can’t let them get Finn. I need people around to ensure that doesn’t happen. All I’m asking is for you to be there if I call.”

He looked between them and slowly sat back. “Oh boy…  For never was there a story of more woe… Alright, Whitney. We’ve been friends for a long time and you’ve stumbled on something bigger than the three of us combined, so I’ll gladly assist. That’s the responsible thing to do.”

“Thank you.”

“First things first, we need this on the historical record.” Greg pulled out a cassette tape recorder from the early nineties and slipped in a blank cassette that he labelled ‘Finn’. He set it on the table between them and pressed record. “I want every detail, spare me nothing. From the beginning.”


	15. better down where it's wetter

The pool was always open. Even when the lifeguards went home, the gate was left unlocked. Whitney took Mancini for night swims all the time when she was in high school. It was quiet at night, and swimming always made them tired enough for a full eight hours of sleep. 

Finn needed water. Without it he was restless. Whitney snuck him out to the pool and put a bike lock on the gate, just in case. She let Finn jump right in while she changed into her swimsuit in the women’s locker room. 

It wasn’t anything like the sea, but it was water, and the water felt fine. Finn swam around, doing flips, diving down to the bottom, and bobbing back up to the surface only to see Whitney sitting on the sidelines, kicking her feet in the water. He swam over to her legs, running his hands from the backs of her knees to her ankles. 

“You’re not just gonna let me sit here, are you?”

He shook his head.  _Not a chance._

He reached for her hand and she took it, hopping into the water. The chill was abrasive at first, then Finn pulled her into his chest. “I’m sorry it’s not as pretty as the cove, and it smells like chlorine.”

_It doesn’t matter._  He kissed her and looked away.  _I’m sorry for putting you at risk._

“We do shit like that for the people that matter,” she told him. He smiled and swam around to the back of her, kissing her shoulders. “Finn…”

“Hmm?”

She paused, giving herself a moment to decide whether the question was worth asking. But something about it felt so important in that moment, when they were in the water and Finn wasn’t as anxious. “What if Mancini and I aren’t enough to protect you? What if something goes wrong and they get you like they got the rest of your family?”

He swam back around to face her. He was putting on a brave, concerned face, but his eyes betrayed him. He was just as scared as she was. 

“When we left the Historical Society, after Greg and I told you everything about what happened to your parents, you were white as a ghost. But you still smiled at me and tried to make me laugh. I don’t want you pretending around me. You’re allowed to be afraid, you should be. We both should be.”

Finn took a moment to gather his thoughts, and Whitney allowed him the silence.  _Moonlight, I’ve been afraid my whole life- When I was a child, I had nightmares about men with nets coming for me- When they never came I thought I was safe._

“Maybe you were, before I showed up.”

_That’s not true._

“The scientists started combing the area only after I came to you.”

_No- I came to you._ He admitted.  _I lied before- People have come back before- To prove that I’m real- I always hid from them- I didn’t hide from you._

Whitney’s heart skipped. “You… You wanted to see me? You waited for me to come back?” He nodded. “Didn’t you know the risk?”

_Of course._

“Do you regret it?”

_Regret what? Falling in love with you the moment I found you?_  Finn moved closer. _I’m scared- But I’m scared of what could happen to you and Mancini more than anything- They already took one family from me._

“Finn…”

“I love you,” he said. Not signing it, but saying it. The words, like all words, felt foreign to him, but they sounded perfect to Whitney. “I _love_  you.”

“I love you, too.”

His cheeks turned bright pink.  _Cool._

She giggled. “After all that? All you have to say is ‘cool’?”

_You’re beautiful and it makes me nervous._

“Snap out of it.”She splashed him before disappearing under the water, and he swam after her. 

* * *

After hours of goofing off, Whitney climbed out of the pool and Finn followed. They didn’t expect the bay to be quiet outside of the pool. It’d been a while since it was quiet enough for Whitney to hear the bugs making noise in the trees. They walked back home holding hands. Finn looked up at the full moon and wondered if it was making him feel so bold, or if it was just Whitney. 

She was a bit tired, not enough to go to sleep. She took a quick shower to wash off the chlorine and went back to her room, where he’d been waiting for her, looking at her childhood pictures with a grin. 

“God, you found the pictures of me with braces…” 

_What are those?_

“The things on my teeth. I had crooked ass teeth.” She sat next to him. “Daddy used to tell me that the sun would hit my braces and blind the fish.”

Finn feigned shock.  _That was you?_

She rolled her eyes. “Oh,  _haha_.” She clutched her towel close to her skin and cleared her throat. “I know you’re okay being naked around me, I don’t know if you’re okay with me being naked around you.”

_Should I leave?_

“You don’t have to.”

_Do you want me to?_ Whitney looked up at him and shook her head. He looked at her lips, then back at her eyes. Maybe the moon was making him bold after all.  _Then I’ll stay._

She slowly rose to her feet and began to let her towel fall. “No one’s ever seen me like this before.”

He watched her and felt his breath catch in his throat when the towel finally hit the floor.  _It’s the first time for both of us._

Rather than put on her pajamas, she walked over and kissed him, asking for more each time their lips touched. It was like sparks hitting a bonfire. Finn suddenly became obsessed with exploring every curve of her body and she was more than willing to let him do it. She needed this to happen, tonight, and with him. 

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into the bed, and giving her everything she needed. 


	16. crisis mode

It was gonna be a long day, Mancini knew it was because he woke up with a stiff neck and the first sound he heard was the screeching kettle. He walked out to the kitchen in his robe, his eyes barely opened as he took a seat next to Finn.

“Good morning, man.” he said. “Slept well?”

_Slept great._

Mancini wiped the sleep from his eyes. His sister passed him a mug. “Thanks, Whit. I slept like shit, I don’t know why. I had a weird nightmare about Dr. Browning kidnapping me.”

“That’s weird.”

He looked at Finn’s pancakes and smiled. “Heart-shaped pancakes, huh? That’s where we’re at?”

Whitney shrugged. “I felt like I owed him after we had the best night last night.”

Mancini snorted. “You two are cute, what you do? You finally sleep together?”

No one laughed. Finn kept eating. Whitney grabbed a teabag from the cabinet for Mancini and cleared her throat. It was a very quick mathematics equation for Mancini to solve. 

“Wait…” His jaw dropped. “OH REALLY?”

Whitney shook her head. “Will you shut up? You’ll wake daddy up.” Mancini covered his mouth, mostly to muffle the excited screaming. “Yes, really, don’t make it weird.”

“This is the weirdest moment of our lives, Whit! Wow!” He stood up. “I’m going for a walk, holy shit. Is that what I heard last night? How’d this happen?”

“I’m not giving you details.”

Mancini looked at the grin on Finn’s face and his jaw dropped even further down. “Okay! I don’t want details, I know all I need to know, understood. Going for a walk!”

He left and Whitney sighed, sitting across from Finn with her own breakfast. “I feel like he’s gonna come back with an annoying amount of questions. I just want you to know, you don’t have to answer them.”

Finn chuckled.  _Your brother is so funny. He gets that from you._

She shrugged. “He gets that from mom, we both do. My dad’s funny but in a dark, vaguely rude kinda way.” Finn rolled his eyes. “What?”

_Give yourself some credit._  He signed.  _You are a wonderful, wonderful person- And you’re funny._

“Thanks, Finn.”

_I have a hundred more compliments where that came from, don’t worry._

“Do share.”

_Your smile is the brightest I’ve ever seen- You’re so brave and kind- Your body is beautiful- Last night was the best I’d ever felt._

“Really? Because I only marginally knew what I was doing and really you were putting in most of the effort.”

He laughed.  _It was a learning experience for the both of us._

“Yeah, I learned that my boyfriend is patient and considerate, but I already knew that.”

_I learned that you’re warm everywhere- And you’ve been in the sea so long that your skin tastes like it._

Whitney got flustered. “I was going to mention that I also learned you have an oral fixation…”

_Well I do now._

Before the moment could go any further, Mancini walked back in. “I just remembered I’m not wearing shoes.”

* * *

At work, Mancini and Antonio were busy acting normal. It was easier said than done by far, as Mancini couldn’t figure out how mermaid sex even worked and was in absolute disbelief that his sister managed to have it. Then, to top it all off, Dr. Browning was overseeing them that day. Dr. Wells was out sick so Dr. Browning volunteered to watch his interns, and it was uncomfortable to say the least.

Browning knew that Mancini knew. Mancini wasn’t sure  _how_  he’d found out, but Browning definitely knew Mancini and his family were at the center of his current mermaid problem. By association, he realized, Antonio was also at the center despite not knowing everything. 

“Browning’s acting like he has a stick up his ass,” Mancini whispered to Antonio. “He keeps pacing by us like a substitute teacher during a test.”

“He’s kind of paranoid, honestly. Especially lately, he’s been real on edge. Won’t even look people in the eyes anymore. I walked in on him talking to a box yesterday. Like, one of those box urns.”

“Weird…” He raised an eyebrow. “You sure it was an urn?”

“Cross my heart. My abuela has one on her dresser next to her wig.” Dr. Browning paced by them once more, and they kept their voices low and their eyes averted. “What fucked up thing did you find?”

“You won’t believe me unless I have physical proof, which I do, but you might not believe that either.”

“Just tell me. Did you find aliens or something?”

“Or something. A few big ‘or something’s actually. It’s like I told you before, we’re dabbling in untouched territory at this point. Me and Whit are kind of terrified.”

Antonio furrowed his brows. “And Browning has something to do with it?”

Mancini nodded. “Browning has a lot to do with it.” Dr. Browning paced by them again, this time making Antonio flinch as he did. Mancini waited until he was on the other side of the room before speaking again. “I wouldn’t mess with him knowing what I know.”

“Knowing what you know? Are we talking ethical violations or felony offenses?”

“Both. Well, the felony offense part depends on how the law extends to things people might not have a full understanding of.”

“Make me understand then.”

Mancini shook his head. “No, it would be wrong for me to get you inv–” Antonio kissed his cheek. Mancini whipped his head up with wide, shocked eyes. “Okay.”

“Whatever you and Whitney got going on, I wanna know. I don’t care for Browning enough to let him just drive you crazy.”

“Alright… Then come to my house after work.”

“Deal.” They pinky swore with each other and Antonio smiled. “We should come up with a handshake.”

“Cornball.”

* * *

Finn was helping Whitney make jewelry in her room while her father was at the marketplace. When Mancini came home with Antonio, he called out for them and they called him into the room with them. He knocked on the doorway first.

“I have a guest with me.”

Whitney looked up from her earrings for a second and laughed to herself. “Antonio is more than a guest.”

He rolled his eyes. “There’s a reason he’s here.”

“And what would that be?”

“To meet Finn,” he replied, cautiously. Whitney froze in place. “He asked me what was going on! We pinky swore!”

“Man-Man! This is dangerous!”

“I know!”

_What did you tell him?_  asked Finn. 

“I didn’t tell him what you were, just who you were. I swear. If you don’t want him to know, I’ll just explain that it’s not a good time and we can stay in the living room.”

Finn looked at Whitney, who then looked at Mancini. Antonio was already there, meaning that he’d be expecting something. He’d only pry more if he didn’t see anything, and that could have potentially made it twice as messy. Having him know the ground rules was much safer.

“Bring him in.” Mancini sighed in relief. “But we’re gonna have to have a talk about your loose boy crazy lips.”

“Oh, you’re one to talk, what was it I heard when I got a glass of water last night again?”

“Bring Antonio in.”

Mancini brought Antonio in and Finn was friendly as always, he shook his hand and verbally said hello. Whitney explained that Finn preferred speaking in sign language and Antonio agreed that that was fine. Then Mancini retold the whole story from the beginning, careful not to leave out any details. Finn and Whitney filled in all the places they thought he missed. 

At the end of it all, Antonio was leaned against the door staring at Finn in complete awe. Mancini put his hand on his shoulder. 

“Please speak or I’ll have a panic attack.”

Antonio walked up to Finn and looked into his eyes. “Your family’s been chosen and blessed.”

Whitney giggled. “Well…” 

Finn elbowed her. _I like him._

“This is so crazy… And Browning’s out to find Finn, why? I guess… I guess he is sort of the last of the mermaids, and he remembers seeing him take his parents… Holy shit…”

_You cannot tell anyone, or it puts Whitney and Mancini in danger._

“Oh, I’m not telling anyone ever. No one will ever believe me and I’ve seen enough episodes of X-Files to know how mangled this could end. But wow… You’re real, congratulations.” 

_Thank you._

“And you’re sexy and you have a girlfriend, things are really working out for you, Mr. Finn Merman.” 

Mancini raised an eyebrow. “Are you being weird on purpose or are you shocked?” 

The front door opened. Whitney and Mancini could tell by the heavy footsteps that their father had just arrived home, but it was so early that it was slightly jarring. Actually, more than slightly. He hung up his jacket and immediately made his way to her room and examined the scene in front of him with one of those classic fake grins he loved doing.

“Hello everyone.”

They all said hello back. 

“I would like to speak to my daughter in private.” 

Antonio immediately left. Mancini grabbed Finn first before heading out. Their father closed the door behind him and the three waited in the kitchen to see what they could possibly hear. 

Her father sat on her bed and looked around the room. “You are so clean, like your momma.”

“Yup, great talk.”

“I’m not done, Whitney.” He snapped. “Some doctor from the facility came up to my stand today and told me he saw you sneaking around last night with Finn. He said you went to the pool together. Did you have a nice time?”

The news stunned Whitney, just not for the reason her father thought it did. ‘Some doctor’, there was only one person that could’ve been. Her stomach churned at the thought of her and Finn being followed. She had to think fast, at least as fast as her father’s incoming tantrum would allow her. “We–”

“Not too nice of a time though, right?”

“We did a night swim, so what? Everyone does those here. I did them all the time in high school.”

“With your brother, not some man I don’t know who could take advantage of you.”

“Finn wouldn’t.”

“You don’t know that.”

“You don’t know  _him_.”

“Cut the bullshit, are you seeing him or not? If so, he needs to find somewhere else to stay. If not, he needs to find somewhere else to stay.”

Whitney laughed dryly. “You’re being ridiculous.”

“Oh, am I?”

“I’m an adult, even if I were with Finn I’m well within my rights to be with him.”

“You’re in my house.”

Whitney stared at him for a moment, conjuring a quick idea. “Are you just gonna sulk at me until he leaves? Because that’s real mature.”

“Don’t talk to me that way.”

Whitney got up and grabbed her suitcase from her closet. She filled it with Finn’s stuff, then with her own. Her father tried stopping her, but she ignored him. She packed herself up, packed up all her jewelry, and slipped on her shoes. 

When she walked into the hallway, her father got loud. “Why’s this guy so much more important to you than me, huh?”

“Why should you be the center of my world? I’m not my momma, for fuck’s sake. All the things I’ve sacrificed for you and you get all angsty over town gossip that I might have someone else to be with. This is beyond annoying.”

“And I thought we were doing so well.”

“I did too but you need to work some shit out before it can get any better.” She turned to Finn and signed.  _The doctor is watching us, I’m getting us out of here. Play along._

“Where are you going?” asked Mancini.

“The hotel across town. I have my cell phone, call me if you need me.”

Mancini leaned in. “What happened?”

“I’ll explain later.”


	17. corner

Whitney sat on the hotel bed with her knees to her chest beside Finn who was sleeping with impossible peace. She couldn’t bear to close her eyes for a moment. She just looked out the window at the moon that made Finn so strong, whispering a prayer to it for protection. Maybe it would grant her powers, too. 

She had this feeling in the pit of her stomach that they were being backed into a corner, if they hadn’t been already. This call was too close. They were going to have to face him soon, and she had no idea how that would end, or even how it could end. 

But it was so simple when she looked at him. He was the purest, simplest thing in the center of something so dirty and complicated. Whatever happened, she’d protect him, fiercely. 

* * *

The ride to work wasn’t nearly as friendly with his father, and Mancini was starting to sense that it wasn’t going to get any friendlier. Instead of talking to Antonio, they just sent each other texts about how awkward the past few days had been without Whitney and Finn around. 

Their father hadn’t had a change of heart since she left, he hadn’t felt any regret. He just felt disrespected, angry even. He didn’t even mention Whitney after she left, saying things like, “If she doesn’t wanna live in this house anymore, she don’t have to. We good without her, we were good without her when she was at college.” 

“She’s not gone, she’s across town,” Mancini reminded him. “All you have to do is apologize, dad.”

“Apologize for what? You should’ve seen how she looked at me, how she talked to me, like she hated me. And for what? For him?” 

Mancini sighed and stared out the window. They were pulling up to the science facility then, and soon he could be out of the car, doing something more relaxing than worrying about his sister. 

Except the world was not relaxing anymore, and the first face Mancini saw as they pulled up to the front of the building was Dr. Browning. He was pacing, nervously. As soon as the truck pulled in, he straightened up and became his normal, professional self. 

Antonio and Mancini both froze in their seats. They practically stopped breathing when Dr. Browning approached the truck. Mancini’s father rolled the window down and raised an eyebrow at him. 

“You’re the doctor that saw my daughter out swimming, right?”

“I am, you remembered me?” He reached his hand in, over Mancini’s chest, and shook his father’s hand. “I saw them again with suitcases, seems like it’s getting serious.” 

“That’s none of your business,” Mancini told him. 

His father scowled. “I don’t trust that guy.” 

Dr. Browning. “Seems fishy to you, huh? You could always have the police check him out. I know a guy in the sheriff’s office who loves taking those kinds of calls. Runaway teens, sketchy boyfriends… My ex-wife went crazy and tried running into the ocean once and he caught her quicker than you could catch a bear.” 

His father laughed. “Whit’s faster than a bear, but thanks for the tip, I’ll have to check this man out, what’s his name?”

“Dad, are you serious? Do you want her to hate you forever?” 

“I want her to respect me, just like I want you to respect me.” 

“We don’t have to get the police involved!”

Dr. Browning shrugged. “Guys like this, they come in, they wreck girl’s lives. She’s a small town girl, what does she know about men from the city?” 

Mancini respectfully pushed the doctor’s hand out of the window. “Finn wouldn’t hurt her.”

“Finn’s his name?” 

Dr. Browning locked eyes with Mancini. His eyes were bloodshot and determined, but they weren’t anxious, quite the opposite. There was a confidence behind them. He’d caught so many mermaids before, and this would be no different. In his mind, there was nothing Mancini or anyone else could do to stop him. 

“I think your father has a right to be concerned,” he said. He opened the truck door for Mancini “The waves bring trash in all the time.” 

Mancini and Antonio got out and Dr. Browning said goodbye to his father and waved as the truck pulled away. When he was gone, his face fell and he glared at the teenage boys.

“I know you two know what Finn is, and I don’t care if you’ve formed attachments to him,” he said. 

“What are you gonna do? Kill him like his parents?”

He shrugged. “I’ve never seen one get attached to a human like this before. Sounds like grounds for an interesting psychology experiment… Hypothesis: If you separate a mermaid from both the sea and it’s lover, then it will grow psychotic or depressed and try to harm either itself or someone around it. Hmm… And if he tries to harm me, well, I’ll be obligated to put him down.” 

“I’ll tell Dr. Wells.” 

“And get me fired?” He said with a chuckle. “Try going to the police with a story about dead mermaids. I think the best path for you would be to get your sister away from her boyfriend and let me get this over with, because I really wasn’t lying about my friend in the sheriff’s office and I don’t want her getting hurt.” 

He patted Mancini on the shoulder one last time before going inside the facility. The boys were speechless. Naturally, Browning was right, the police wouldn’t believe them if they said something about a mermaid, and he had a friend on the force who would definitely ensure that no investigation would be done. 

“We have to expose Finn,” Antonio said. Mancini whipped his head towards him. “If the police won’t believe, we have to make them believe. We have to give them no other choice but to believe.”

“What if there are more Brownings out there?” 

“Then we’ll have the whole Bay as a shield, and Finn can go back to the ocean, and Browning goes away for what he’s done.” Mancini shuffled nervously on his feet. “Finn’s so lovable, this could work.” 

He nodded. “You’re right, you’re right… But we have to reveal him to the  _whole_ town… Greg!”

“Greg?”

“Greg.” 

* * *

“Why are we meeting Greg?” Whitney asked her brother, standing outside of the Historical Society. “Y’all haven’t told me anything, what happened at the lab today?”

“It’s a surprise, where’s Finn?” 

She crossed her arms. “He won’t leave the room, he thinks it’ll draw more attention to us. Other than that, we’re holding up. He’s not bad company especially squished into a hotel room for days.” 

Mancini nodded. “Well, we have potentially good news for the both of you then.”

“Just tell me what it is!”

Antonio and Mancini shook their heads and led her inside. Greg had already been called and was waiting in his office for them. He didn’t have all of the details, he’d just been told that there was a ‘major development’ in the mermaid case. They sat in front of his desk, Whitney nervously bounced her knee and waited for anyone to start talking. 

“Do you know what this is about, Greg?”

“It’s about Finn, right? What fishy nonsense have ye gotten yourselves into now?”

“I wish I knew.”

They turned to the teenagers, who were grinning nervously back at them. Mancini cleared his throat. “We got cornered by Dr. Browning today and he sorta threatened us.” 

Whitney blinked in surprise. “HE WHAT?”

“He told us he knows a guy in the police department, basically saying he’d get Finn shot, but don’t worry. We have a plan.” 

“What _the_  fuck?!”

“You might react badly to the plan at first, but I think you’ll open up to it once we break it down.” Greg raised his hand. “You don’t have to raise your hand, Greg.”

He leaned forward. “Do you two realize how screwed we are if Browning is watching  _and_ has law enforcement connections?”

Antonio sighed, he knew it would probably go like this. “That’s why we have the plan, Greg, pay attention.” 

A lump was stuck in Whitney’s throat. She knew they were toeing the line this whole time. She had faith in her brother and in Antonio but she was also terrified, truly and honestly, and she was regretting leaving Finn in the hotel by himself. 

“We have to tell the bay about Finn,” Mancini said. Whitney and Greg looked visibly deserved by the mere suggestion of that. “They knew about mermaids once, just let them know again. Let them all know. Browning can’t hurt someone that the town is looking out for.” 

“Do you have any guarantee that they won’t turn on him?”

“He won’t if we have control of everything.” Mancini raised an eyebrow at Greg. “How do we drive everyone to the ocean?”

Greg spun in his chair once before gasping. “You may not have to.”

“Wait, wait, you think this is a smart idea?” asked Whitney. “Like, seriously?”

He shrugged. “We’re in a corner without many options. Theoretically, the boys are right, the town wouldn’t let Browning touch Finn if they were aware that he’s an endangered species of sorts…” He glanced at Whitney for a moment. “Well, for now. But that shit is going to be like the second coming, believe me. All of our lives are going to change if this works.”

Greg sat back in his chair and surveyed the people in his office, then laughed. 

“Lady and gents, I’m shitting my pants.” 


	18. dreaming of the sea

Whitney made it back to the hotel a lot later than she’d planned, but she came prepared for her boyfriend’s worry with snacks. As she’d suspected, he was sitting on the bed, slightly hunched over, working intently on a pair of earrings when she walked in. Finn raised an eyebrow and asked where she’d been. 

“Meeting with Mancini went on too long,” she told him. “You should’ve been there. I know why you weren’t but you should’ve.”

She leaned in to kiss him, but he stopped her, pressing his thumb on her lower lip, where a bright red spot appeared from her chewing it too hard in Greg’s office. He kissed her gently, and it stung at first, but the sting disappeared. She instantly knew he healed her. 

_What happened?_  he asked.  _You’re tense._

She laughed nervously. “Yeah, you have no idea. But you will once I explain this whole thing to you.” She picked up the pair of earrings he’d made. They weren’t bad, a bit heavy handed but not shabby at all. She smiled at him. “You might have a future in this business, dear. If everything works out, that is.”

_What do you mean? ‘If everything works out’? Are you talking about the doctor or did something else happen?_

“The doctor is the something else that happened, he threatened Mancini and Antonio at the facility today, they were really shaken up about it. We’re running out of places to hide, baby.” 

_If it gets too bad, I don’t want you with me._

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

_I’m not!_

“You are, Finn. We have a plan. A new plan… I hesitate to call it a  _better_  plan… It’s a gamble.”

_Is it dangerous?_

“Not any more dangerous than whatever else we’ve been doing, that I know for sure. It just depends on a lot of faith in people that I’m not completely sure I have. Or you have, at this point.” She crossed her arms. “In a few days there’s going to be a big migration of fish coming this way, everyone and their mother will be out on the bay fishing. That’ll be the best time for Browning and whatever goons he has to stop by and sweep both of us away–”

_Are we running?_

“No, we’ll be at the bay, with the fisherman, out near the cove.”

_Someone will see me._  Whitney kept her eyes low.  _Oh, someone is supposed to see me._

“Everyone is supposed to see you- Us, together. I know it sounds crazy but the idea is that if everyone knows you exist and knows you’re harmless and knows you’re the last of your family, they’ll protect you from Browning. Mancini and Antonio both think it’s a great plan. Greg was skeptical but he also just needs people to know he’s not crazy so he agreed to it.”

_And you?_

“I can’t even trust my own father, I don’t know what his friends or any of the fishermen are like. But I don’t have any other ideas besides leaving the bay entirely, and I don’t want to do that because the cove is your home and those are your waters and there’s no guarantee that the next place we’d end up in would even come close. That would be unfair.”

Finn nodded. _So, that’s it? We let the bay see us together?_

“Yes.”

He reached over and rubbed her arm.  _Should we wear matching outfits?_

She giggled. “No, goofball, you’ll be naked in the water, it won’t matter.”

_…Should we wear matching outfits?_

Whitney rolled her eyes and climbed onto his lap. “If this works out we can get our own place and be as naked as we want all the time. So you better hope this works out.” 

_Our own place? You and I? I wouldn’t annoy you?_

“Nah, you wouldn’t annoy me.” She tucked a bit of his hair behind his ear. “It’ll be a nice place right on the water, you can be in the sea as much as you want and protect the bay. Sounds like a dream, right?”

_A really good dream._

“How about a dog?”

_Better!_


	19. a grand reveal

“How is it looking at home?”

“Dad’s packing like it’s the end of the world, and not just a slightly more interesting fishing trip than usual. It’s the most I’ve seen him this whole week.”

“Where’s he been?”

“Meeting with someone, I guess. Diego probably.”

It was busy where Whitney could see, too. People were rushing to the sea as if they already knew there were mermaids there. Those who weren’t fishing were out grilling for the passing fishermen and playing music from their kitchen windows. She felt Finn’s giant presence approach her from behind to tell her that he’d packed everything they needed to pack. 

“I convinced Dr. Wells that he should take the interns to observe the bay so I’d have an excuse to be home when dad leaves.” A few of their father’s friends arrived with all their gear in hand, and they loudly, half-drunkenly greeted each other. “God bless Dr. Fucking Wells.” 

“Diego and them are there?”

Mancini grimaced as one of the men walked over to him and pinched his nose. “You know it.”

She rolled her eyes. “That just means he’ll be leaving soon, stay strong.” 

“I’ll try my best… Greg already called and said he’s at the bay taking pics for the Historical Society.” 

“Truly the entire bay is out today, great. So comforting.”

“Was this not the plan?”

“It was but the plan still makes me nervous.” 

There was a knock on the door. Finn moved out of sight, and Whitney kept Mancini on the line just in case something went wrong. A second, harder knock came soon after. 

“It’s the owner, are you planning on going fishing today?” Whitney opened the door and contained her relief long enough to reply to the hotel owner’s question. “Alright, I just came to tell you the police set up a barricade for cars and pedestrians surrounding the hotel. They finally decided to start fixing this damned sidewalk. In the meantime, you can go out through the back door and take the back streets out to the water.”

“The back streets?” 

“’Fraid so! See you out there.”

The owner left and Whitney shut the door and looked over at Finn. “Looks like we’re making a detour before the beach.” 

_It sounds like a trap._

“Sure does.” She bit her lip. “Any ideas?”

Finn’s eyes lit up.  _I have one_. 

“Will this plan get us shot?”

_I’ve been shot before._

* * *

Just to be sure, Whitney and Finn waited a bit until they knew most people were in or around the sea. Mancini was already there, pretending to be interested in the scientific exploration, but keeping an eye out for his sister. Dr. Browning was completely MIA despite the rest of the doctors being present for the trip, and he hadn’t given his colleagues much in the way of an advanced notice either. 

As they were heading out of the hotel through the back, Mancini texted his sister asking where they were. Her phone buzzed but there was no real time, the police barricade was much closer than it was described, but Finn was smart enough to call that. They’d “borrowed” some fishing gear off of someone in the hotel lobby, decked themselves up from head to toe and tried to play the moment off. This was Whitney’s safe Plan A.

The officers noticed them immediately, and the apparent leader watched them walk to the side road before realizing he’d never seen Finn before. “Hey!” They froze. Whitney turned and walked back to the officer. “Not you, Whitney. Your friend. He have a permit to fish in this bay?”

She crossed her arms. “Does he need one if he’s with me?”

“Everyone needs one no matter who they’re with,” he replied. “We had a real over-fishing problem a while back, don’t know if you remember that. You might have been too young.” 

“My dad remembers, he talked about it all the time.”

He grinned at Finn. “Your daddy’s real worried about this man you’re shacking up with. He’s called us to do a welfare check.”

“Has he.”

“He has. Says the guy’s unsavory. Then we get a call from Dr. Browning over at the facility who says he recognized him from a list of drug dealers up north.”

“‘Up north’? What town, officer?”

“Don’t think it matters.”

“It does matter, actually, because if you have no real reason to stop us right now, we’re walking away.” 

“Whitney… We have orders to make sure that doesn’t happen. Usually, we’re police but today? We’re animal control.” 

She shrugged, a bit more nervous than she was letting on. “Fine…” She dropped most of her heavy fishing gear and turned to Finn who was exactly where he needed to be, by the fire hydrant. “PLAN B!” 

In a flash, Finn opened the hydrant, water spewed everywhere, distracting most of the officers long enough for Whitney to start running in his direction. Once she was behind him, Finn raised his hands to the water, increasing the pressure. Police officers went flying in all directions, none could run through the heavy wall of water blocking their vision and keeping them separated from their targets. 

It was Biblical. Even the water pooling on the ground moved in harsh waves to knock down officers running towards them. Whitney was completely in awe, slack-jawed, even as the water started to drench both of them. Finn controlled the water like it was the easiest thing in the world to him, because it was. 

Still shielded behind him, she stripped off her heavy clothes until she was down to her swimsuit and set them aside. 

“So you were just not gonna tell me before this that you could do that, huh?” Sirens went off in the distance. She tapped his arm. “We have to go.”

Finn released his hold on the hydrant and ran behind her, they ran towards the barricaded main street. The main officer was still in persuit on foot but his soaking clothes slowed him down. Finn made it worse for him, taking off his fishing jacket and throwing it in the officer’s face. 

There were two more cars tracking them, so the whole force was out and hot. The main streets were completely empty except for the police with Whitney and Finn at the center, running, soaking wet in swimsuits. It started to garner attention. They were just a few minutes from the beach, running on adrenaline, trying to keep their breathing steady. 

As soon as Whitney spotted the coastline, she felt a relief wash over her. They were close. They were close enough for everyone to at least hear them. They just had to keep running. Keep up the pace. Not look back. 

They reached an intersection and a police car swerved in front of them, blocking their path. Finn put himself in front of Whitney like a protective bear. An officer got out first, holding a weapon Whitney hadn’t seen before. Then, Dr. Browning stepped out. Any view of his eyes was obscured by the glare from the sun, which was starting to set, meaning everyone, eventually, would begin to head home. 

“Hello,  _Finn_.” Dr. Browning said. “Clever, Whitney. I would always refer to his mother as ‘Marina’ when I was out buying her things.”

“The difference is I’m not keeping him as a science experiment.” She noticed Finn shaking and rubbed his arm to calm him down. “We’re in public, asshole. What are you gonna do?”

He shrugged. “This street is empty so I could shoot him with this gun which shoots out an electrified net specifically designed for mermaids.”

“You’ve been busy, murderer.”

“I have been, but murder implies that I’m hurting people, and I’m sure you’re aware that Finn is objectively not a person. He’s a thing to be studied. His blood could be the key to curing diseases and his DNA could be the next step in our evolution. Don’t be so selfish and keep him to yourself for some sick fantasy, that’s all he is. He’s not a person, he’s a fantasy.”

“Finn is a person, he’s been watching over the bay for as long as he can recall. If he’s not a person, and you’re less of a person than him, what does that make you?” She shook her head. “That fucking sucked.”

_It was okay._  Finn stepped forward a bit and the cop aimed his gun.  _Relax._

A truck pulled into main street. Whitney whipped her head around and her heart sank as her father stepped out. “No, no, no…” she mumbled under her breath. “Christ, dad, tell me you’re here to get them to stop!”

“No.  _you_  stop, Whit. Just step away from him and you won’t get hurt.” 

She rolled her eyes. “What the FUCK, dad?!”

“You’re only mad at me now cause you don’t know the full story! His kind fucked up the bay for fishermen for years, keeping us from fishing when the population was down even if we did have a permit.”

“Is this who you’ve been secretly meeting up with for a week? Are you serious? Do you hear yourself? You  _hate_  the scientists and now you’re listening to them out of, what? Revenge for me leaving?”

“Fishing was all I had when I didn’t have you and Man-Man, and he’s not allowed to take you away from me too, no one is.”

“You weren’t in danger of losing me, daddy! Whatever Browning’s been feeding you is made up! Mermaids weren’t responsible for over-fishing in the bay, that doesn’t even make sense!”

“Oh, you’re the expert now?”

“You sound fucking stupid.”

“Don’t talk to me that way!”

“Don’t push me out of your life! I’ll walk away and you’ll just treat Mancini worse because then you won’t have me OR mom!” Her father froze, and his mouth zipped shut. It was a step too far, but she wanted it to be. He needed to wake up. She pulled Finn a little closer. “Just because you’re hurt, don’t mean I have to be hurt with you.” 

Dr. Browning groaned. “Let him go, Whitney, you won’t even miss him. Go back to your father and be normal again.” He outstretched his hand. “It’s better this way, with us separate. Us and them.”

_Not me and her- We are better together._

Whitney’s father ran up to the police car and looked at his daughter, who moved away from him, thinking he’d try to pull her away. Instead, he rushed for the officer holding the net gun. 

“Dad, no!”

He grabbed the gun and shot it at Dr. Browning. Everyone’s eyes grew wide. Browning fell to the asphalt with a thud, convulsing as the net shocked him enough to paralyze. 

Whitney looked at her dad, then to the officer. “Whatcha gonna do, sir?” 

The officer blinked and stepped away from the three of them slowly. “I uh…”

Her father raised an eyebrow. “You’re letting them pass and heading back to the station, right?”

“That sounds… about right.”

He turned to Whitney and Finn one more time. “Well, go on before I change my mind!”

Whitney stood over Browning, taking Finn’s hand before he could lead her away. “He was the whole reason we were even running to the beach… The whole reason we were gonna expose ourselves at all.”

What are you saying?

“You still wanna do this? You still want everyone to know you’re a merman?”

He nodded.  _I don’t want to keep hiding- And I don’t want to keep hiding you- I want the house with the dog we talked about._

Finn gently pulled Whitney toward the beach, she smiled and went along with him. Some curious people had already moved from the bay to the main street to see what all the sirens and fuss was about. 

Once they hit the sand, the crowd gathering behind them was well past curious. Greg stood off to the side with his camera ready, and Mancini broke away from the rest of his group and caught up with them, taking Whitney’s free hand. 

“I have a lot to tell you later,” she told him. “Some of it is really for a family dinner type conversation.” 

“What the fuck did dad do?”

“A lot, but… I think we’re okay now. It might all be okay now.” Finn pointed to a fishing net hanging off of one of the fishermen’s boats that was already in the water. “Ask permission first, dude.” 

_I don’t think they’ll mind, I’m helping._

“Well, I mean–” Finn was already running to the water before she could protest. “Alright.” 

The fishermen panicked, shouting for him to get out before one of them hooked him. Eventually, he popped up and grabbed the net, his swim trunks bobbing to the surface behind him. 

“Motherfucker, are you _naked_?!” exclaimed one of the fishermen. “Whitney, is this your friend?!”

Finn disappeared beneath the surface again, with the net. The bay grew silent. Moments later, with the water glittering under the setting sun, he leaped from the water, relieved to be back home, his tail shimmering. It was the most beautiful thing Whitney had ever seen. 

The crowd at the bay gasped and screamed. Cameras flashed and people rushed to get a closer look. Finn swam further out than all the boats. Leaping every few moments so that they could all get a good look. When he returned, he tossed the net towards the fisherman with a smile and a wink. 

Mancini sighed. “Ten bucks says he gets hooked again when he swims to shore.”

“You don’t have to bet me, I know. Just let him have fun.” 


	20. the stunning conclusion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *gasp* you've never seen THIS before

She was a woman of the sea now, rarely away from it. Whitney had the sea's salt stuck to her dark skin, a clear mark of the man who renewed her love of the water. 

They built their house by the sea, on a quiet part of the coast where people wouldn't bother them. They had a dog and made a living and Finn still swam. He still leaped from the water like a glimmering mirage for all to see. They were happy now, stable. The people of the bay knew who they were-- they knew what he was-- but they saw him as a sort of son of the community now. He was birthed from the sea, he watched them, he helped them, he laughed with them. He had a family of hundreds now, and to them he was a treasured secret, something worth protecting. 

No one blinked an eye when Whitney and Finn strolled into Mancini's high school graduation, dressed to the nines. It was all so normal, Finn helped Mancini put on his cap and Whitney straightened the bow tie under his gown, much to his dismay. He tried swatting them away, but they were immensely persistent. 

"Stop moving, Man-Man!" Whitney exclaimed, laughing as he tried to squirm away. "You're gonna be a famous scientist one day and I don't want your documentaries to have you looking busted at your own high school graduation." 

He rolled his eyes but stood still anyway. "As long as you don't cry we're fine." 

"Oh, I'm gonna wail." She finished fiddling with him and pinched his cheek. "Daddy wants pictures so smile."

"I'm gonna puke before I smile, Whit."

Finn smiled. _You can throw up after graduation- Whitney will._

She pressed the camera into his chest. "No, I'm fine, I puked like an hour ago. Mancini, your niece is... Killing me." 

"Shut up, she's my perfect little fish niece!" He bent over and nuzzled Whitney's belly. "You're my perfect wittle fish niece, aren't you?" Finn took a picture of them and chuckled. "That was a picture and not a video, right?"

_You're lucky I don't say anything about you calling our baby your fish niece._

"She's both my niece and A fish." Mancini said. "Merniece?"

"Why didn't you say that first?"

"Fish niece was easier to come up with, if you can believe it." All the students were called backstage. Mancini grew jittery and would have run for it had Whitney not been there to stop him with her superhuman merpregnancy strength. "How about they send me my diploma in the mail?"

She laughed. "Dad will never forgive you."

Antonio ran over to Mancini, kissing him on the cheek and squeezing him tight. "C'mon sexy, that's our cue." 

"I don't wanna."

"Well, you're gonna, and you're gonna with me, so let's go." He started tugging his boyfriend towards the backstage door. "See y'all, see you merbaby!" 

Whitney took Finn's hand, shedding her happy face for a moment. He rubbed his thumb against the back of her hand and gave her a moment to let it all sink in. Mancini was graduating high school, he was going to school in the furthest place he could find: Australia. The time zone situation was wack, and the distance was even more wack, but she was proud of him. She didn't want to become like her father, she didn't want to start holding too tightly to everything she loved, so she tried to keep her cool. But her cool wasn't realistic, and Finn saw how much she was already missing him. 

He let go of her hand to speak. _Say what's on your mind._

_Say what's on your's._

Finn thought for a moment. _You two have an unbreakable bond- Australia can't take him from you- And he'll come back in time to meet his fish niece._

_I know, I just- For a while we only had each other. Daddy was doing other things so we were each other's only family- Who knows? He might like Australia more and stay there forever._

_Australia's got nothing on the bay!_

_You've never been to Australia._ The vice principal announced that the ceremony would commence and Whitney sighed.  _I'm fine, Finn._

_You can't lie to me._

_I have our family- You, me, Flipper, and... Coral?_

Finn laughed. _We'll name her when we see her._

_I can't wait that long! This is our child and the first newborn mermaid in decades and she needs a good name!_

_Name her like you named me._ He looked into her eyes. _When we get there, you'll know._

* * *

The water was cool, it wasn't quite sunset, but it was close to it. Finn carried his daughter into the water for her first swim. Whitney was nervous, but she trusted him. She sat on the cove with Flipper, watching her husband and their daughter glow under the moon that gave them power. All the love in the world was in Finn's eyes. 

"She looks so small in your arms!" Whitney exclaimed. Their baby was so tiny that she was hidden completely by Finn's large frame. He turned a bit to let her see her mother. "I'll have a name for her when you come back."

He smiled and played with her chubby little toes. The water made the happy baby's brown skin turn slightly blue, her feet were already kicking before they'd breached the surface.

Finn cradled her close and they went under. She took to it immediately, breathing as if she'd always been in the sea. She smiled up at him and her chubby little legs transformed into a silvery mermaid's tale. Finn's heart filled to the brim with joy. Their daughter was a new mermaid, and the best part of it all? She looked just like Whitney. 

He thought about his parents, long gone. He wished they could see this moment. He wished they could have met Whitney and loved her almost as much as he did. As he helped their daughter swim around the cove he remembered his mother doing that for him. Dr. Browning was gone, he couldn't ruin this moment. He couldn't take him away from her. 

They returned to Whitney after a long swim, both happy and giggling. The baby's tail transformed back into legs and she smiled at Whitney as she was gently passed over to her. As Whitney bounced her in their arms, she looked into her eyes and came up with the perfect name.

"Sage," she replied. "Her name is Sage. She's our Sage."

Finn climbed out of the water and kissed Whitney behind her ears. _Sage._

**And they lived happily ever after.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love baby endings, sue me


End file.
